The Journey To Love: Sojourning for a Soulmate
by sissouthernink1994
Summary: 1st branch. What can one say to those who feel the journey may not be worth it? The cliche says there is someone for everyone. Is there? Can they handle the journey to find out who it is? Rating changed to M, please search accordingly.
1. Intro

**Journey Intro:** The Journey to Love can be a fun and enlightening one. It's one filled with plenty of turns and detours. Road signs are misinterpreted, if seen at all. Road maps are useless. No one knows the exact directions nor can anyone give advice on how to get there. No one knows exactly how it looks because everyone arrives at a different destination at different times. You'll just know when you arrive. But who's to say the travel plans won't change once you get there? Remain open to the journey. Sometimes it's the best part of the trip.

**Branch Summary:** What can one say to those who feel the journey may not be worth it? What to say to those who think love is a great idea, a wonderful reason for a holiday, but seems so unattainable…because of who they are and who they want to be with? The cliché says there is someone for everyone. Is there? Can they handle the journey to find out who it is?

**A/N:** This is a multi-chapter story crossover between CSI Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and FBI Agent Derek Morgan. This is also the first branch of The Journey To Love series. Please read and review. All types of reviews are welcome! 8)

**Warning:** This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from CSI: NY or Criminal Minds. They are all CBS. I do however own the idea of their romance.


	2. When will it be my turn:Derek

The Journey To Love- When will it be my turn? : Derek's Thoughts

Watching. Looking. Wondering. Derek walked from room to room, looking at the people dancing, smiling, loving.

_**Are they all in love? Are they all that happy? Now I remember why I'm not particular fond of weddings. It constantly reminds me that I'm in a minority. I want to be in love, but I can't find a man who wants to stay in love. A man who wants a commitment. A man who just wants me. Someone not imitated by my job. Someone not afraid, to …I don't know, be himself?**_

Derek walked around, looking at family members, family friends. His cousin's wedding was beautiful; she always had an affection for beautiful things, and shiny things, and expensive things. Good thing she had the job to go with it. In their conversation a few days before Shelia told Derek that she was unhappy that he was alone. He told her that it wasn't because he wanted to be. He wanted love, to be in a relationship. But like so many women say…where are all the good men?

_**I go out on dates. But that's as far as it really goes. I don't feel a lot of chemistry in my heart. My body is a different story. There was Kevin who was tall, dark and extremely handsome. A teacher, great muscles, great in bed. But that's all he wanted. Relations, no relationship. There was Stephen, the wedding planner, whose kisses made my damn knees weak. But he cheated on me; I wasn't enough. I fell in love with Mark. If there were someone I felt I could stay with forever, it would have been Mark, my sexy lawyer. I don't know. He couldn't be honest with me. I didn't want a bisexual man, I wanted a gay man. There's a huge difference. I really loved him. He was my world. If he ever came back into my life, I might have a hard time saying "no". Really hard. When do I get to become someone else's world? Who will help soothe my mind after a hard, trying day? Who will help me relax, calm me down?**_

Walking through the garden patio of the reception hall, he could see his mother dancing with a gentleman friend. She didn't want to call him her boyfriend yet. He didn't know why; they looked so happy together. Much happier than his father probably made her. Even his mother had possibly found love after all these years. Maybe there was hope for him.

_**I'm too old to be club hopping and jumping from bed to bed. Twenty-somethings do that. People who don't know or don't care do that; I'm beyond that. I want to fall in love again. It's been **__**too**__** long. A one night stand every once in a while is ok, I guess. But that's just physical; it pleases my body but leaves my heart empty. I hope don't forget what it's like, falling in love. I hope I can recognize it. I don't like the internet dating much. People lie a lot. Fake pictures; lie about their jobs, their family. Their health status. I want someone to make me their world, make me their main concern. When's my turn? It's enough to depress a brother. I just want to meet someone and we just click. How do I meet him? How do I find him? How does he find me? Granny used to tell me to put it out where God could hear it. Will He hear it since I'm gay? I know He loves, me. I know He cares about how I feel. Surely He doesn't want me to be alone, all my life. I do so much good in this world, chasing the evil ones, putting them away so they can't hurt anyone else. He can grant me this one happiness. Please God send me someone to love. I promise to cherish him like the beautiful gift he is. I promise. I promise. With all that I am I promise. **_


	3. When will it be my turn:Sheldon

The Journey To Love- When will it be my turn? : Sheldon's Thoughts

_It's a nice day today. Glad we decided to meet in the park. Today the air seems so, oh what's the word…? Anti-New York, very crisp and clean. Hope Jared approves of the park. He said it wasn't too far out of his way. _

Sheldon looked at his watch. 12:10 p.m.

_Hmmm, he's running a little late. Well, who could blame him? Who wouldn't take a stroll on this nice Saturday afternoon?_

Sheldon was in the park to meet Jared, a young man he met on the internet. He wasn't used to internet dating. He thought it was something new to try. Well, he and Stella. They figured if they tried it together, that one of them would be able to get a date. This week, it was him. He adjusted his sunglasses, looking around to see if he could see Jared, hoping he wasn't too scared to meet in person. They had talked on the phone everyday for a week and Sheldon had a good vibe about him.

_I hope I'm not getting my hopes up and he changes his mind. Oh, 'cause he's really cute. Really cute. His voice gave me butterflies. _

He smiled, remembering the conversation yesterday around lunchtime, when they made the date for today. Jared's voice was so smooth and deep, like an aged cognac. And Sheldon was excited to meet him. He was an entertainment lawyer based in New York, working in tandem with a law firm in Hollywood. He was in New York for the next two weeks, which is one reason why he agreed to meet Sheldon. A buzz from the Blackberry.

**1 new msg from sbonasera 12:25 p.m.**

**well is he as cute as his pic?**

Her phone

**1 msg from sexydocNY 12:26 p.m.**

**Idk hes not here yet about to call him**

His phone

**1 reply sbonasera 12:28 p.m.**

**hope he didn't change his mind **

Her phone

**1 reply sexydocNY 12:30 p.m.**

**you & me both let me call him**

Sheldon looks for Jared's number in the contacts and dials. It rings. Two rings. Three rings. Voicemail.

"Hey Jared. It's Sheldon. I just wanted to make sure you weren't lost. I'm here at the park waiting for you. Give me a call so I know you're ok and on the way."

Her phone

**1 new msg from sexydocNY 12:34 p.m.**

**Voicemail :( I think he changed his mind**

His phone

**1 reply sbonasera 12:36 p.m.**

**Come on be POSITIVE**

Her phone

**1 reply sextdocNY 12:40**

**I'm POSITIVE he's not coming**

Just then, Jared's number popped up on Sheldon's phone.

"Hey Jared, where are you?"

"Uh, something came up at the last minute and I won't be able to meet you today."  
"Well, how about tomorrow? I'm free tomorrow."

"No. Uh, I don't know how to say this…"

"Well, just say it."

"I don't know if a cop is someone I want to start a relationship with. So I don't think we'll be meeting. Bye." He hung up before Sheldon could even say anything else. _How rude!_

**1 new msg from sexydocNY 12:50 p.m.**

**he just called he's not coming he changed his mind about me**

**1 reply sbonasera 12:51 p.m.**

**i'm so sorry shel. he probably wasn't worth meeting anyway**

**1 reply sexdocNY 12:53 p.m.**

**maybe…**

_Man, I knew he was going to change his mind! Damn! Why is it every time I see an open door it closes? I hate this. We didn't even get to meet and he already changed his mind. How fair is that? How hard is gonna be for me to find love? The first step is so hard. So hard. I just want to be in love. I want someone to love. I want a real relationship. To be in love, to share my life. Wow, just to hold someone in my arms. God, can I please have someone who is worthy of me, worthy of my love? I wouldn't cheat on him like Calvin and Paul did on me. I'd support him in whatever he does. I'd love him 'til I couldn't love him any more. I'd cherish him. I wouldn't hurt him like Chris hurt me. I would just love him. _


	4. The Letter

What can one say to those who feel the journey may not be worth it? What to say to those who think love is a great idea, a wonderful reason for a holiday, but seems so unattainable…because of who they are and who they want to be with? The cliché says there is someone for everyone. Is there? Can they handle the journey to find out who it is?

**A/N:** This is a multi-chapter story crossover between CSI Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and FBI Agent Derek Morgan. This is also the first branch of The Journey To Love series. Please read and review. All types of reviews are welcome! 8)

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from CSI: NY or Criminal Minds. They are all CBS. I do however own the idea of their romance.

**Extra A/N:** Ok, so here's the only problem with having the whole story mapped out in your head already…you have to fill in the blanks and make it flow. I have the story finished, in my head. But I have to make sure all the parts fit. So there are some parts already written, but I have to wait because it would make the story out of order. Maybe I need flashbacks. Hmmm…enjoy while I ponder. 8) Oh this chapter pokes fun at strippers. If you're a stripper, please don't take it personal, it's just fiction.

**Chapter 3: The Letter**

Keith from the mailroom was delivering mail. He never listened to anyone; he always had his iPod playing too loud. Annoyingly loud at that. He saw Sheldon in the lab.

"Here Dr. Hawkes. This is for you. FBI must be important," he yelled, disturbing others in the lab. Sheldon reached over and took out one of his ear buds. "Hey, why'd you do that?"

"To see if your ears were bleeding from the noise. You shouldn't listen to music at this level. With this so close to your eardrums, it would be like standing in front of 10 ft. speakers a concert on stage at the Garden. At the rate you're going, you'll be deaf before Christmas. Doesn't the ringing of your ears annoy you when you take these out? You probably can't even hear someone coming up behind you. Someone could sneak up behind you and you'd never know it. That's too dangerous. Go to the settings menu and adjust the volume setting." Keith glared at the doctor, put the ear bud back in his ear and left the lab. Sheldon shook his head "Kids". Then he noticed Keith pausing in the hall, adjusting his menu settings. Stella laughed as he sat down to open his mail.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that? I was afraid he was already deaf and couldn't hear me."

"Well, at this point it's a future disability that's avoidable." Inside his envelope was an invitation from the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit to be a part of a profiling training conference and seminar. "Wow, I had forgotten all about this."

"About what?" Stella asked, looking up from the computer.

"A few years ago I applied to attend some FBI training seminars, but I either got a letter saying that they were full at one place or to try another conference. Of course, the other conferences would be in another state and at an inopportune time. I was always trying to get in the BAU training here in New York. But this letter says they have room at a conference in Quantico, VA."

"Profiling? Criminal Profiling? I didn't know you were interesting in that."

"Well, now that I'm a CSI, it could help us out some on cases. I mean we know some, like kids who torture animals can grow up to be serial killers, children who see abuse can become abusers themselves. But not like what they work with. I mean they break it down to race, age, lifestyle, you name it. I have no idea now where this job will take me. I mean, I started out as a surgeon."  
"Sounds interesting. How many spots are open?"

"Not sure; this is seems to be a specific invitation. Says here they have checked my CSI record and have recommended me for the training. Can they check my records like that?"

"They _are_ J. Edgar's people."

"I'm really interesting in going. Mac in his office?"

"Yeah, looks like he just went in."

"Let me go see him now." Sheldon walked out of the lab and Stella continued analyzing the data she was working on.

Sheldon knocked on Mac's glass door and he waved him in while he finished his phone conversation. Sheldon wondered if the Senior CSI had ever thought about this type of training. He considered it an honor that they still were inviting him; even after he figured they probably ruled him out.

"What can I do for you Hawkes?"

"I have an invite to join a criminal profiling training class in Quantico." He gave Mac the letter.  
"FBI? How'd you swing that?"

"I filled out some applications years ago and the classes were always full. But this time it looks like they are requesting me. I would like to go. What do I need to do?"

"Well, looks like it's being paid for. The higher ups won't complain about that. Quantico, huh? Nothing here in the city?"

"New York is where I always tried to apply for. Here or D.C."

"When did you get interested in profiling?" Mac asked.

"I guess I've always wondered what makes people tick. Maybe this will help. I never know where it might take me."

Mac handed Sheldon a piece of paper. "Right now, to The Classy Lassie. There's been a robbery and a body discovered in the dumpster. Take Stella and Danny with you, Flack will meet you there. I'll look this over and get back to you."

"Thanks Mac." Sheldon took the address and walked to back to the lab.

* * *

The Classy Lassie

"What kind of place is this?" Stella asked a few blocks from arriving "I've never heard of it."

"Sounds like a sex shop or strip club, maybe?" Sheldon said. "Kinda scary when you think about there's been a robbery and a death on the premises."

"Yea, wonder if something else was going on in the Champagne Room." Danny said. They laughed.

"Come on you two. There's Flack." Stella said, shaking her head. They each grabbed their kits from the back of the SUV.

"NYC, never a dull moment. Gotta' love it." Flack said.

"Ok, what have we got?"

"The body in the dumpster is Fred Hewlett, age 72. Discovered when the strip club kitchen help was taking out the trash. None of the workers recognized the name, so he may not even be related to the robbery. Now that, is another mystery. They deal mostly in credit. Cash is only collected by the dancers on the stage."

"So was a dancer robber?" Stella asked.

"Yes, several. But not before the perp tore the place apart, shot 3 people, all minor injuries, and then blasted his way into the ladies dressing room."

"Sounds like he was looking for someone specific. Who robs a strip club?" Danny asked.

"Maybe you should put out an APB for anyone trying to spend large amounts of one dollar bills." Sheldon joked.

"We did send an alert to the banks and major stores."

"Oh he wouldn't be _that_ dumb, would he?" Stella asked.

"Stell, he robbed a strip club; he's not working along Danny Ocean knocking off casinos in a movie." She shrugged.

"Ok, Hawkes dead body first?"

"Might as well. Let's get the dumpster diving over with. Oh wait, are the waders in the SUV?"

"You bet they are. Let me go get them." Flack looked confused.

"Waders?"

"Yeah, man large wading hip boots. Mostly used in churches by clergy and deacons for baptizing. We use them for the rats." Flack shuddered.

"Say no more."

"I'll start finger printing inside."

"Ok, we'll join you as soon as we can." Danny handed Sheldon a pair of boots and a coverall and they headed towards the dumpster.

An hour later, they were able to join Stella inside. The place was a wreck- overturned tables, bullet holes in the walls, doors and glass. Then there were dishes and glass all over the floor.

"Hey guys, some witnesses say they saw the perp touch the pole on his way to the changing room."

"Whoa I'm not touching that!" Sheldon exclaimed, the thought of smelling vaginal fluids grossing him out.

"Someone has to; he might have left a print." Stella scolded.

"How are we supposed to fingerprint _that_? There's no telling when the pole was last cleaned. Or who or _what_ touched it." Danny was now regretting every strip club he had ever been to.

"Well, see if you can find some that aren't smudged. Sheldon why don't you finger print all the employees while I finish dusting the doors to the changing room."

"Ok, Stella." Sheldon began fingerprinting the bouncers and waitresses while Danny tried to figure out the best way to fingerprint a stripper's pole.

After not finding any usable prints, Danny instructed the owner to clean the pole so the dancers wouldn't be exposed to their CSI chemicals. Then he began to help Sheldon finish fingerprinting the dancers. Neither of the gentlemen had ever that many women trying to flirt with them before.

"Let me make an announcement ladies, before we go any further, I'm a happily married man with a daughter so please stop trying to get me to come back for a lap dance." Danny stated.

"Oh handsome, you can bring your wife. I often dance for couples, usually the wife's request to the husband." One dancer said laughing, with several others joining her.

"And what about you Mr. Chocolate? You coming back to see me?" Another dancer said, as sexy as she could. Danny and Sheldon both laughed. "What's the matter you play for the other team?" She snapped, scowling.

"Yes, actually I do. I've been gay for years. Maybe I'll send some of my gay girlies here." He had finished her prints and she got up, disgusted. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Gay girlies? Is that the new name now?"

"Well, my friends don't like the word lesbian. They say it brings on negative, masculine thoughts. And they are very feminine and girly but hate the term lipstick lesbian. Therefore, they call themselves gay girlies. Been using that name for years." The next plea for business was directed at Stella.

"What about you sister? You coming back?"

"I didn't see any men here. Did you Sheldon?" He shook his head no. "If I go to a strip club, I'm going to the Neck Tie with Sheldon."

"We did have fun there that one time didn't we?" They laughed.

"Sure did."

"I've heard of the place. Linds went there for a bachelorette party and none of them realized it was a gay man's club before booking the party. They stayed and spent money anyway."

"The dancers don't care who they dance for as long as the money is left when they're done."

About 3 hours later, they had finally finished collecting evidence and were headed back to the lab. The night shift was going to be very busy. Sheldon and Stella were headed towards the elevator when Mac stopped them.

"Hey Sheldon, invitation approved." Mac said, handing Sheldon back his letter. "I've made a copy and I called to reserve your spot. They're sending your plane ticket with instructions for you to fly with your gun. Might be some arms training involved. I think you might be leaving on a military flight since you can't fly armed. Unless you're escorted by an Air Marshall. And they may do that."

"Thanks, Mac."


	5. Morgan?

What can one say to those who feel the journey may not be worth it? What to say to those who think love is a great idea, a wonderful reason for a holiday, but seems so unattainable…because of who they are and who they want to be with? The cliché says there is someone for everyone. Is there? Can they handle the journey to find out who it is?

**A/N:** This is a multi-chapter story crossover between CSI Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and FBI Agent Derek Morgan. This is also the first branch of The Journey To Love series. Please read and review. All types of reviews are welcome! 8)

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from CSI: NY or Criminal Minds. They are all CBS. I do however own the idea of their romance.

**Extra A/N:** Ok, so here's the only problem with having the whole story mapped out in your head already…you have to fill in the blanks and make it flow. Here's another flow part and it leads to my first attempt at a Criminal Minds crime scene for the next chapter. Let's hope my research proves to make sense.

**Chapter 4: Morgan?**

**Quantico, VA**

"Garcia, here is the list of the people coming for the profiling conferences. Can you double check their credentials and make sure they have the right clearances? I think a few will end up with us if we end up having to go to out on a case just based on the time they will be arriving." Said Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner.

"Will do."

"Oh and check with Dr. Hawkes with the crime lab in NY. See if he wants to military or commercial. If he flies commercial armed, he'll need an Air Marshall escort. If so, we'll need to change his plane ticket so they are sitting in the same proximity. I think he may be the only one on that list."

"Yes sir." She replied.

"One other thing, double check e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contacts. Some of the information we have is bad and we haven't been able to reach some of the participants."

"Am I making badges for them too?" Hotch stopped to think.

"I guess you can make them for the ones you have verified info for and we'll figure out the rest. Thanks." And the agent left. Emily walked in.

"Mind if I take a break in here with you?" She asked.

"Nope. Welcome to Knowledge Land." Garcia replied. Emily chose a chair and sat down next to her friend and the team's technical analyst. She took a sip of her coffee.

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Getting things ready for the profiling training classes."

"Yeah, I hear they are giving FBI-level information to non-FBI level personnel. And much faster than it took for we profilers to learn it. How long has this be going on?"

"Years, at least 5."

"You mean I could have skipped and learned in 2 weeks what it took me almost 2 years of classes to learn?"

"I guess, but it's better this way. You get to be one of us and help someone else understand. You wanna' help?"

"Might as well. Not much to do at my desk."

"Start off by calling the names so I can verify clearances and all this other stuff." Emily began calling names and with Garcia's quick skills, they began verifying. She called some people to get correct information and ended up searching for others.

"This person is in jail." Emily said, looking at the screen.

"What? The invites just went out. She must have gone the day after she sent her reply in. Well, I'll have to create a special file for her." Garcia said, placing the woman's file info in a different pile. "Who's next?"

"Dr. Sheldon Hawkes."

"Oh yes, he's the one I have to call." As she looked up his number, his picture came up on the screen ready to be printed for a badge. "Oh, hello handsome." Emily smiled. "And a doctor too? Wonder if he's single."

"Looks like he is, but I think he's on the other team dear." She sighed "Such a shame."

"Wait how can you tell? Your gaydar works through computer screens?" Garcia laughed.

"Sometimes, yeah. Let me see what kind of vibe I get after verifying his info." She began to dial his number. One ring, two rings, three rings…

"Hawkes?"

"Dr. Sheldon Hawkes?"

"Yes this is he." Garcia mouthed he-sounds-so sexy and placed him on speaker phone for Em to hear.

"This is Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia from the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit calling on behalf of Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. How are you?"

"I'm good and you?" Em smiled when she heard his voice.

"Just peachy. I need to verify your information submitted to us. Is your cell number still 917-555-6289?"

"Yes it is."

"Ok, I'm sending you a text message. Please verify the information, reply with 'yes' and send it back. I'll wait." She sent the message. Em wrote on a piece of paper _"What does your gaydar say?" _Garcia wrote back_ "Not sure yet"_

"Ok, you should be getting it back now." He said.

"Message received Dr. Hawkes, thank you. I have just a few more questions for you. Would you like to fly commercial or military and armed or not?"

"Commercial is fine with me and I guess I could fly armed. Although I can't bring a gun through security and I don't trust to the bag handlers so I don't know how I could get around it."

"Well I can request an Air Marshall for you. They are the only ones who can fly armed besides pilots. I'd have to change your plane seat because you would need to sit next to the Marshall."

"That'd be good." Before she sent in the request she wrote on Em's paper _"I have an idea ;)"_

"I'm sending the request in now Dr. Hawkes. Here's a personality question the profilers are asking me to ask our trainees. If a woman were to send you flowers, what kind would she send?" Em looked at her funny and wrote _"what kind of question is that??!!" _Sheldon laughed.

"Uh, what a question. I'm not sure of the reasoning, but then again I'm coming there to learn about profiling. Well, I've never had a _woman_ send me flowers before. But when I have received them, I've gotten, uh let's see if I can remember…" Garcia wrote _"gay" _Em wrote_ "how? that proves nothing". _Garcia wrote,_ "if a __woman__ hasn't sent flowers it must have been a man". _Em wrote down a question mark and shook her head. "Forget-Me-Nots, blue Irises. I got red roses and blue orchids once."

"Which do you prefer?"

"Actually the roses were really pretty and but my favorites are hydrangeas in purple, blue and white." Garcia looked at Em and nodded "gay". Em shook her head "no". After a silent few seconds, he added, "Oh, I also like orchids in pink and white." More silent seconds. "Any other questions?"

"Yes, actually." Garcia said, her interested peaked. "This is for my own personal knowledge. And if you don't want to answer, I completely understand. I have a friend who would like to go out on a date with an incredibly handsome man and I can see from the picture submitted that you fit the bill." Sheldon felt his face blush and was happy that she couldn't see him. "If I arranged it, would you go out to dinner with my friend?" Em shook her head with a violent "no", thinking the date was for her. Garcia wrote on the paper _"not you silly Derek"_

"Thank you. I guess I could. What's your friend like?"

"Oh tall and very sexy." She hesitated. Em covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Short hair or long?" He inquired.

"Very short. Beautiful skin, lovely smile, sexy voice. Awesome personality." She could hear Sheldon's hesitation. She wrote on the paper _"see? hesitation means he's thinking about it"_. It sounded like he was holding his breath.

"And your friend's name?" He asked, very hesitantly. Garcia smiled.

"Morgan." Em was desperately trying not to laugh. She felt she was going to have to leave the room at any minute.

"Morgan. Umm, that's a nice name."

"I think so. So tell me what kind of person interests you, just in case it doesn't work out with this friend."

"Well, kind of how I like my coffee: hot, strong, and black with just a little bit of sugar."

"What a coinkydink; that's what Morgan says. So you're game? I'll talk to Morgan and set everything up so you two can have dinner, on me."

"Why not? I guess I'll wait until dinner is over before I thank you."

"I'm fine with that. And I know you will thank me. It was a pleasure talking with you Dr. Hawkes. I think Morgan will be pleasantly surprised."

"Same here. Good bye."

"Bye-bye." And they hung up. By now, Em and Garcia had tears rolling down their faces.

"You aren't really going to set them up on a date are you?"

"Absolutely! I think they make a cute couple."

"And you're sure Hawkes is gay?"

"I'm positive." Just then, SSA Derek Morgan walked past Garcia's office. He doubled back and stood in the doorway when he heard them laughing.

"What are you two in tears about?" he asked. Neither of them could answer right away for laughing and the shock of almost being caught.

"Nothing. Just working on a surprise for a friend."

"Yea, what she said." Em said laughing.

"Did you need something hot stuff?"

"No, just thought I'd see what you were up to. On second thought, maybe I don't want to know." Derek shook his head and walked away. They watched him walk down the hall, in his sexy manly way.

"Damn shame he's on the other team. The things I would do if I could." Garcia fantasized.

"So when are you going to tell him? Wait, you are going to tell him right?" Em asked.

"After Dr. Hawkes gets here. Until then I have some planning to do."

* * *

**1 month later**

"Mom, I have everything I need. I'm a grown man going to a training class, not summer camp. I don't need you to pack for me." Sheldon stated to his mom, Roberta, over the phone.

"I just want to make sure you have enough clothes. You can never tell about the weather in these cities now days."

"I've got it covered Mom. Now Danny and Lindsay will be here any minute to take me to the airport. I need to get my stuff…wait I've got another call. It's probably them. I'll call you when I get there. Love you and give dad a hug for me."

"Bye, darling." Sheldon clicked over.

"Hawkes?"

"Dr. Hawkes, this is Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. I'm glad I caught you before you left for the airport. We may have a case to go on by the time you get to Virginia and you may be going with us. Is it possible for you to bring your CSI kit with you? I've already cleared it with the Air Marshall escorting you."

"Uh, sure I can bring it."

"Good. Have a safe flight and I will see you when you get here."

"Thanks." As he hung up there was a knock as the door. He opened it to find Danny and Lindsay with daughter Lucy in tow. "Hey guys, give me a minute. I've got more gear to tote with me. Hi Luce." He leaned over and gave the little girl a kiss on her forehead.

"She's fussy and we thought a car would be good, didn't we Lucy?" The little girl giggled.

"What have you got to take now?" Danny asked.

"Agent Hotchner just called and asked me to bring my kit. Can you believe it? Two suitcases, my laptop, a carry-on shoulder bag already filled with the material I had to read and bring with me that I was told **not** to let leave my sight, my personal carry-on and now my kit. Also a carry-on. I'm gonna need a truck by the time I get to Virginia."

"What can you check in?"

"My suitcases. Let me do a quick double check then we can leave."

"I'll take the suitcases downstairs and wait for you guys." Danny said. Sheldon was checking his mental list: phone charger, laptop cords, flash drives, iPod, full CSI kit, snacks, official reading material, personal reading material, eye glasses, contact solution, eye drops, medicine, cell phone, gun, bullets, plane ticket, wallet, money, credit card, license, FBI temp id, CSI badge, keys, umbrella, paper, pens, pencils…

"I feel like I'm forgetting something..."

"Kitchen sink maybe?" Lindsay joked. Lucy giggled.

"Maybe. Oh, if I can't buy it when I get there, I don't need it." He placed his carry-on backpack on his back, laptop messenger bag over one shoulder, FBI reading material bag over the other, and then picked up his CSI Kit. "My camera! I knew it was something. Linds, can you get it? It's on my desk over there with the battery bag and charger." She brought it to Sheldon. "See if you can slip it in the backpack." Not an easy task with Lucy in hand, but achieved. With his free hand, Sheldon grabbed his keys, locked his apartment door, and walked with Lindsay and Lucy to the elevator.

After arriving at JFK, he met the Air Marshall at the TSA office. They scanned all of his carry-on items, wrote down his FBI temp id, badge and gun number, inventoried his kit and finally scanned his ticket. He and Marshall Jackson walked through the airport to their gate. Sheldon hoped people didn't think he was carrying someone else's stuff. There was so much of it! They were flying commercial, but first-class. However, first-class wasn't full. Sheldon was thankful for the extra room. He and the Marshall talked a bit, not much though. Sheldon was concerned that the Marshall wouldn't be able to watch the plane since they were in first-class. There was an Air Marshall already scheduled for the flight, sitting in coach.

As the flight when on, Sheldon began to realize how nervous he was feeling. This was an unusual feeling for him. Flying didn't scare him. Learning new things certainly didn't scare him. What was this feeling? For once, his favorite music didn't relax him. The unknown. What was he going to learn that would make him feel uneasy? He would just have to see.

After landing the Air Marshall escorted him through baggage claim, where they met Agent Jennifer Jareau and he was "handed off" into her custody.

"Hi Dr. Hawkes. I'm Jennifer Jareau. Welcome to Quantico. How was your flight?" she asked shaking his hand.

"Great thanks. Nice to meet you and you can call me Sheldon."

"Everyone calls me J.J."

"J.J. it is then."

"This is SSA David Rossi."

"Sheldon," He reached out to shake his hand. "Let me help you with some of your stuff."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." The walked toward the front doors.

"The car is here. Sorry you won't get much chance to stretch out your legs. We're going over to the military airstrip. We are being sent out on a case in Washington State."

"Yes, Agent Hotchner called before I left and said that there was a possibility of a case. He asked me to bring my kit."

"So that's what this is. I was wondering." David said.

"Yea seems heavy at first. Guess I'm so used to it."

"Well, you will get a chance to rest on the plane. It will be about nightfall when we get there. We'll get briefed on the plane and once again by the local authorities." J.J. said.

"Good. I didn't seem to get much rest on the way here. Nervous I guess." Sheldon stated as they drove off.

Sheldon tried taking in what scenery he could as they approached the airstrip. He saw a plane that looked as big as Air Force One. He observed what he assumed to be the rest of the team, loading their luggage and various items underneath the plane. The car pulled up to the plane, stopped and they got out. Hotch came over with the baggage handler to help unload.

"Hotch, this is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes." J.J. said introducing the men.

"Please call me Sheldon." He said slaking his hand.

"Everyone calls me Hotch. Welcome aboard. You're the only profiling trainee going with us. We've had to push the training back a few days because all of us are here. You were the first to arrive according to the schedules. Everyone else will have a few days to rest and fill out paperwork before the official conference starts." They were walking to the plane. The handler was placing items on the plane.

"Uh, I may need to keep my kit with me. I don't know how hot it will get under there. Don't want anything to explode." He handed him his suitcases and took everything else with him towards the door of the plane.

"Let me introduce you to the rest of the team. This is Dr. Spencer Reid, SSA Emily Prentiss, and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia."

"I spoke with Penelope before. Please everyone call me Sheldon."

"You're a medical doctor who became a CSI. Interesting career change." Reid said, shaking his hand.

"Long story. I'm happy where I am though and I take all my knowledge with me."

"Sheldon, everyone calls me Em or Prentiss. Whichever is easier for you to remember." He shook her hand. He looked strangely at Garcia and her red hair.

"Penelope, nice to finally put a face with the name. I don't think you're what I expected."

"That's the beauty of being the Goddess of Knowledge; I rarely am what people expect. And you can call me Garcia." They shook hands.

"This is SSA Derek Moran." Hotch said as Derek approached. _Morgan? _Sheldon thought_. Morgan?_

"You can call me Morgan or Derek, doesn't bother me." They shook hands. _If this is him, he is just like she said, tall and sexy. Oh my God, I think I'm going to be in trouble._

"Call me Sheldon." Hotch motioned for everyone to board.

"You got a lot of stuff honey." Garcia said, grabbing a bag. "Here let me help."

"Garcia," Sheldon whispered. "Morgan? _That's_ Morgan?" Smiling devilishly she replied:

"Yep." Sheldon smiled a smile he didn't really want anyone to see.

"Oh my God. Tall and you forgot extremely sexy" he said.

"Told ya you'd be thanking me later." And they boarded the plane.

After J.J. briefed everyone with the little info they had, everyone spread out about the plane to rest before landing in Washington State. Sheldon found a seat that reclined took a few snacks out of his bag and tried to relax. Garcia sat beside him, Em across from them.

"Ok, did you profile me while we were on the phone?" He asked, whispering so Derek wouldn't hear. He was sitting in the opposite aisle from them, eyes closed with his headphones on. Sheldon assumed he was listening to music. He admired his very kissable lips. His broad shoulders and muscles showed their fit physique through his form-fitting shirt. His strong hands, folded across his stomach, legs crossed at his ankles.

"No, silly. Deductive reasoning. Do you remember the question about the flowers?"

"You figured out I was gay by the flowers I said I liked?" Em giggled.

"Oh, Em was helping me that day and I had you on speaker phone so she heard the whole conversation." Sheldon smiled shyly, shaking his head. "And no it wasn't the flowers you liked. Do you remember what I asked?"

"Actually do you remember how you answered?" Em asked. Sheldon thought. "You said no woman had ever sent you flowers but you have received them." Then he remembered.

"See, if no woman sent them, then it must have been a man." Garcia said. "See, deductive reasoning."

"Does he know?"

"Oh, no. Not yet. I'm not going to tell him until you guys get ready to go out. If I do it last minute he can't back out."

"Why would he back out?"

"Because he doesn't know you. And he's sometimes shy about meeting guys."

"He's so gorgeous. He shouldn't have any trouble meeting anyone."

"If he just wanted someone for his body, it would be easy. I mean look at him. Hello? Matters of the heart are quite different. He wants a soul mate. Someone to truly love and love him back."

"And you think that could be me?"

"Can't hurt to see, right? And I don't think you're the type to go around breaking someone's heart."

"No, I'm not. I've had mine broken enough."

"See, it'll be a win-win." She smiled and patted his arm. "Get some rest, hon." And she kissed his cheek. Em touched his knee and went back to join Reid and J.J. in a card game. Sheldon pulled out his iPod and turned it on. Full from his snack and sleepy, he closed his eyes. The sounds of Sade's "Soldier of Love" leading him to a dream of a date with Derek.

Garcia sat next to Derek. He looked over at her and turned his iPod off.

"Baby girl, you're up to something aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you're you." She shrugged. "So tell me about the good Dr. I know you checked him out."

"I did. And he's available."

"What? You don't know he's gay."

"Yea, I do. Not telling you how I know. I just do. So what do you think about him?" She asked looking at the sleeping doctor. Derek was quiet, taking in the view as well.

"He's quite handsome. Seems quiet, very intelligent. Works out, nice body." He smiled. "Kissable lips. Very kissable. Looks like he has strong hands…." He said his voice trailing off. _Wonder what can those hands really do?_ He smiled again, blushing. Garcia hit his arm. "What's that for?"

"I see you blushing. Stop it with that dirty mind of yours! You haven't even had a conversation with him to see if he likes to do that." She looked at him slyly, giggling.

"Yeah, I bet he does. And I bet he does it oh so well." She sighed, shook her head and left him to his dirty mind. He laughed and returned to his music, Anita Baker's "Body and Soul" caressing his ears. He watched Sheldon sleep for a while, before his thoughts dreamt of the two of them sleeping together, with his arms surrounding Sheldon.


	6. And the Hunt Begins

**A/N:** This is a multi-chapter story crossover between CSI Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and FBI Agent Derek Morgan. This is also the first branch of The Journey To Love series.

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from CSI: NY or Criminal Minds. They all belong to CBS. I do however own the idea of their romance.

**Extra A/N:** This is my first try at a Criminal Minds type crime scene. I've watched the show long enough to catch some words and other things. So if nothing else, I hope it all sounds realistic.

**Chapter 5: And the hunt begins**

Sheldon woke up about 45 minutes before the BAU plane landed in Washington State. He thought that maybe he should take a trip to the bathroom before they landed and went straight to work. The BAU team seemed to be preparing themselves. Hotch and J.J. were checking for new updates on the case.

"Ok, everybody. The locals are waiting on some reports that won't be ready until we almost get there. The only update we have right now is that they think it was a ritualistic killing. No clue as to what kind of group or anything yet. We'll be landing in a smaller airport near between Seattle and the Gray Harbor County area. The city where the crimes occurred is Cosmopolis. I think we're in for some gruesome crime photos. And Dr. Hawkes, turns out having you with us will be a huge help. They have a small police department but the cities in the surrounding area share the crime lab and right now, they are overwhelmed with evidence. They're trying to get a few CSIs on loan from Seattle but not having much luck." Hotch stated.

"Well, I will certainly do what I can."

"Once we see the crime scene photos, we can begin to narrow down the type of killings these could be. This is gonna be a tough case; crime in this area is nearly non-existent. There's been a total of three murders in the last five years. There are only about three registered sex offenders, maybe six in the whole area of Gray's Harbor. The towns are shocked and at a loss. I know we'll all do the best we can." Hotch said and sat down for the plane's descent.

Upon de-boarding the plane, the team began to realize how small the area really was. There were two 12-passenger vans waiting for them. They were greeted by Police Chief Fredrick Grant and Assistant Chief Carla Glass.

"Evening everyone. I'm so glad you were able to come and help us out. We're in over our heads here." Chief Grant said.

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. We're glad we could be here to help. Let me introduce you to the team." He turned to introduce everyone. "Lastly this is CSI Dr. Sheldon Hawkes from New York. He's attending our profiler training conference but we decided to bring him with us to assist."

"Thanks for coming Dr. Hawkes. We probably don't have all the fancy equipment you're used to but you're welcome to what we do have."

"I'm glad to help Chief Grant and I may have some of the most important stuff with me. And I can always have samples shipped to Seattle if need be."

"Maybe they will be more receptive to you than to us. We did request some CSI help, but haven't had much luck. Would you like to view the crime scene first while there's still a little light or go to the station and view what reports we do have?"

"I think the crime scene first. We can get some first impressions and then start fresh in the morning." Rossi suggested. Everyone got their luggage from the plane, placed it in the vans, and got ready to view the crime scene.

**The Scene**

The building almost looked like a house more than a club. Almost out of place. With cities this small, it seemed like they shared everything. Most necessities are between five and twelve miles of each other, in different cities. Such a large crime for a small city. The smell of death still lingered heavily in the air, an obvious indication of the gravity of the crime. The sun was just setting and some of the surrounding businesses were closing for the evening. Chief Grant led them into the club. Upon entering, the odor of decay and rotting blood hit everyone's nose with the force of a hurricane. The air was saturated with the horrible scent. It was disturbing and nothing any human should ever be used to smelling. There were no windows in the club, no patrons coming in and out, no ventilation coming from the kitchen to possibly draw out the smell. Garcia's stomach let her know immediately that she might not be able to handle going any further. She retched and leaned forward. Derek came to her aid.

"Baby girl, try and breathe from your mouth, not your nose." Sheldon put down his kit, opened it and handed out masks that he sprayed with peppermint oil to anyone who needed it. The peppermint had a soothing quality to the stomach and helped the person to breath a little easier. He had smelled this before but not quite of this magnitude. He was able to handle it so far. Garcia took the mask and nodded with thanks, for fear that if she opened her mouth she really would vomit. J.J. took one as well. Being the communications liaison, she didn't have to smell things like this often.

Chief Grant led them to the largest room of the club, which was in the center of the building. It was dubbed the "Inner Sanctum" by club patrons. There were too many rumors as to why. Some say only the VIP were only allowed there. Some say it was because the best music was played in that part of the club. There were three levels, each with two clubs or rooms. Many nights there would be private parties, fundraisers, general club patronage. So many activities going on with people from the surrounding cities, counties and even people from Lakewood (about 80 miles away) and even Seattle (about 60 miles away).

There was a beautiful crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling. And the first thing that everyone saw was the humongous circle of blood in the center of the room, right under the chandelier. There were voids in it where one could imagine where the bodies were. The bloody circle had to be about 13-15 feet across. However, the blood spatter was a different story. Sheldon's CSI gears began to shift and he grabbed his flashlight and camera from his kit to help him investigate. Then questions began to flow.

"How many people were found in the circle?"

"There were nine people found, four male and five female. Ages ranged from 17-25."

"And how were they found?"

"According to operating hours the club was closed and the cleaning crew who has a key found them." Assistant Chief replied.

"I mean were they found face up, down, feet in, feet out. That kind of thing."

"Oh sorry. There were all facing inward towards the center and face down. Their arms seemed to be intertwined. It's as if they were standing facing each other, arms intertwined and they all fell forward." Reid was searching his memory for any familiar rituals fitting this but was coming up empty. Sheldon was walking around, looking at the walls and floor as if he were watching the Williams sisters play tennis. He paused at one angle, walked and changed his vision angle. The blood spatter was so unusual. Reid began his questions.

"They were found clothed, yes?"

"Yes. Except for shoes and socks."

"Hmm. Not uncommon in rituals. Any markings on the bodies just in plain view?"

"No sir, just the strange way they were intertwined." Hotch was watching Sheldon very closely and he could tell he was seeing something.

"Sheldon, what are you seeing?" he asked.

"This blood spatter is so unusual. So shaped. Were the murder weapons found?"

"Unfortunately no. At first glance, they look like hacks made with an ax. For the most part the bodies were intact. These young people were slaughtered, no doubt about it. But it almost like it there was mercy taken on them. If that makes sense." The chief said. Sheldon slowly nodded and continued to look puzzled. Derek got the same feeling that Hotch was getting, Sheldon was definitely seeing something. But what? Sheldon had now completely walked around the whole circle of blood and seemed to be getting an aha moment. He stepped back and took a picture of the area from where he first stood when he came in the room. And then it hit him.

"Hotch, can you stand here?" he asked pointing to the spot about two feet to his left. "Morgan, can you stand here?" He pointed to the spot about two feet to his right. The men confused, moved to the spots. He walked around to the circle's halfway point. "Reid, can you stand here and Emily stand directly across from him?" They moved. Reid was trying to figure out what Sheldon saw. "David, can you stand here?" Sheldon was now pointing to the spot halfway between Reid and Emily, what could be seen as the top of the circle. He asked the Chief to stand between Hotch and Reid, but back towards the wall. He asked the Assistant Chief to stand between Morgan and Emily, J.J. between Reid and Rossi and Garcia between Rossi and Emily, each closer to the wall than the circle. He took more pictures of the walls behind each of them and then went back to stand between Hotch and Morgan.

"What do you think Dr. Hawkes?" the chief asked.

"I think we should be looking for more people." Everyone was shocked.

"More bodies? How is that?" Reid asked. Sheldon paused and began to explain.

"You may not exactly see it from where you are standing but your positions have created a pentagram. Five points, with four spaces in between. You represent each person found in the circle."

"So far that matches." Emily said.

"Yes, but the blood pattern doesn't; there's too much blood for just nine people. If you at the points can look behind you, there is a void on the wall. That suggests that someone was struck in front of the person standing at the point." The team turned to look. "The point person would have been covered in blood. The pattern on the wall could even suggest that the point person held the weapon. Now the four inner points are closer to the wall. There's no spatter behind them, but there is wax on the floor. They were probably candle holders." No one noticed the wax until Sheldon mentioned it. "So that's five people who weren't in the circle. Now, if I go back about two feet from where I'm standing, there are two more spots with wax, suggesting two more people. There are also scuff marks here," he pointed to his feet. "I think there was a desk or table and chair here. Whoever was in charge sat here, giving orders. The two on the side may have been helpers, readers, whatever. That's brings our total number of people in this room to at least 21 so far." Sheldon paused and let the shock soak in that there could be five more victims.

"So far? You think there could be more?" Asst. Chief Glass asked.

"Yes. If you look back at the circle, and I know the pictures of the actually bodies will show this better, but I can see, for lack of a better word, a reverse void, but too much in certain places." He walked back to the circle. "See here? The nine you found were on the bottom and bleeding. Look at the darker spots. That's an indication of more blood, falling, dripping blood instead of blood flowing flush against the floor. I see at least four dark spots."

"So possible four more victims?" The chief asked. Sheldon nodded. "My God. I wish there were someway we could analyze all this blood. Could we find out how many people were in the circle? Suppose there were more than you just discovered." Sheldon thought, trying to remember all the things he and his team used to try and catch killers.

"There is. I've never done it on this big of a scale though. There is a chemical we use to preserve the blood. It's usually sprayed on after we wipe the blood up with a cotton swab or cloth. Once in a murder/animal cruelty case we used brand new white t-shirts. The bloody spot was only about three feet by six feet. There was so much blood and we couldn't tell what was human or animal. So we poured the chemical on the floor and soaked it and the blood into the shirts. We preserved them in zip type bags until we could get them back to the lab and then we had to hand squeeze the liquid into the vials to run the tests. It took a little longer to separate the DNA but it was the best thing we had."

"Is it possible to do here? And how long would it need to soak?"

"It's possible. With the size of the circle and the length of time the blood has been there, it would need to soak at least two hours. It's something I could start off doing first thing in the morning." The Chief agreed.

"You'll have what you need. Anything else we can do to get a head start in the morning?"

"I would start a missing persons search and including Seattle and Lakewood residents. College and high school students especially. The numbers in this ritual are puzzling me. We have a pentagram, slaughtering of some type and the shedding of blood, but the numbers don't suggest anything Satanic or Luciferian yet." Reid commented. "We could possibly be looking for a cult. Our unsub would be the leader who was sitting at the table. I need to sleep on it and see what else I can find."

"Is there any way I can view the crime scene photos before tomorrow? It might help to process the scene better." Sheldon asked.

"I can have Sam meet us at the hotel with the flash drive." Glass said and she stepped away to call the station.

"Well, your rooms are ready the diner will still be open so you can eat. Start time 8 a.m.?"

"Sounds good." Rossi said. They all turned to leave and head to the motel.

On the way there, Sheldon was a bit concerned about who he would room with. It would just be too awkward if he had to room with Derek. Too awkward. Sheldon would soon find out that he had a room to himself, but it had a Jack-n-Jill bathroom to be shared with the three women. Oh well. Garcia was happy. At least she could get to know him better so she could help Derek understand that he needed to take a chance on Sheldon. Sam met them in the lobby with a copy flash drive of the crime scene photos. After entering his room and sitting on the bed, Sheldon realized how much the day had taken from him, not to mention jet lag was probably setting in. He let the ladies freshen up in the bathroom first and he decided to take a quick shower. He didn't want to be caught with no bathroom time the next morning. He took his contacts out and let his eyes breathe. The eye drops cooled his tired eyes. He holstered up, grabbed his badge and hotel key and went down to the diner. Most of the team was already there, waiting to order.

"Sexy in and out of glasses." Garcia whispered to Derek. He cut her a cut-it-out look. She just smiled. Sheldon sat down at the table and was handed a menu. Hotch and Rossi were interested in how he thought things went.

"Very interesting. I've never seen a scene like that."

"How did you see the pentagram?" Reid asked

"The blood spatter. It just wasn't adding up." He placed his order with the waitress and poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table, adding one spoonful of sugar. Garcia and Em seemed to be thinking the same thing- _**hot, strong, black and a little bit of sugar**_. They stifled a little giggle.

"Can we not talk blood spatter right now?" J.J. asked as the waitress set down her strawberry soda she ordered.

"Sure. So tell us how you came to be a CSI." Derek said. Garcia smiled at him as if to say _good move_.

"Well, I finished med school at age 24 and I became a surgeon right away." _Finished Med school at 24?_ _Great another genius to possibly fall in love with_, Derek thought. "And I was good. I enjoyed it. Then I lost two patients back to back. There was a lot of controversy about it through out the hospital. Neither was my fault, but I had to take a huge chunk of the blame. And it shook my confidence. I couldn't work with live patients so I worked in the ME's office and the morgue. I started meeting the CSIs on calls, giving them TOD (time of death) and COD (cause of death). It began to interest me how what I knew medically could help them find a killer. After a few years I looked into the CSI training and here I am."

"Do you enjoy it more than surgery?" Em asked.

He took another sip of his coffee. "Depends on the day. I always had an adrenaline rush in surgery. Being that close to God will do that to you. But now, when I get the info that leads to a killer, it has the same effect." Several waitresses brought the group's food to the table. Finally food! All in all dinner wasn't a bad experience for Sheldon. He got a glimpse of the people he would be working with on this case and learning from once back in Quantico. It was good for Derek as well. He was able to focus on Sheldon, learn his story. Decide if a date was in their future. It was; he just didn't know it.

* * *

Back in his room, Sheldon unpacked and got comfortable by putting on his pajamas. He wasn't going anywhere else tonight. His computer was on and he was determined to get a good look at the photos. There was a knock on the door to the bathroom. He got up to open it and there was Garcia.

"Hey I just came to check on you. See how things are really going."

"I'm good. Getting tired but I really want to look at the photos before I go to sleep."

"Mind if I join you?" She asked. He pulled the chair out for her at the table. Just then, J.J. and Em came to the door.

"So what do you think of Derek?" J.J. asked. It was obvious she found out.

"Very handsome." He replied smiling.

"That's all?" Em asked.

"Well, I'm still looking and learning. Ask me in a few days and I'll probably have a different answer."

"I think he is very interested in you. He couldn't keep his eyes off you at dinner." Em commented.

"Oh yeah, I saw the way he looked at you when you were leaving too. His eyes were glued to you." J.J. said.

"Really?" They all nodded. He sighed, blushing a little. Then turned to the photos. J.J. winced.

"Ah, I can't take anymore tonight, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

"Night." Em stood behind Garcia but she moved over so they could share the chair. Sheldon began looking at the photos. The first one was of the ring of bodies.

"Do you see what I was talking about with the reverse void?" he asked pointing to the screen. They both nodded. He then pointed out several other things in that photo and others. Soon Garcia couldn't take anymore. She said goodnight and went to bed. Em was interested in his point of view, but sleep was creeping in on her too. She soon left and Sheldon locked the bathroom door behind her. He went back to the photos, making notes on a pad when there was a knock on the hallway door. _Who could that be?_ He wondered. He opened the door to find Derek there.

"Hey, I just want to make sure you were settling in ok."

"Yes, I am. Thanks. I've already had a pow-pow with the ladies."  
"Pow-pow?"

"Yes, we share a bathroom and they all came to see me before going to bed. I'm just looking at the crime scene photos. Would you like to take a look?" Derek thought about it. The chance to get a little closer. He was starting to feel a little chemistry between them. He felt his ears get warm, trying not to show the blushing on his cheeks.

"Nah, I'll leave you to it and get the report in the morning."

"You sure?" Sheldon didn't intend for that to sound so yearning.

"I'm sure. Sleep well. I'm just across the hall if you need anything."

"Thanks." They stood there, staring at each other. Each one felt that there was something else to be said, something else that should be said. Neither man could think of anything to say. Derek did something unexpected; even he didn't know he'd done it until it was done. He took his right hand, cupped Sheldon's left jaw and gently stroked it with his thumb.

"Good night" he said barely above a whisper.

"Night," was Sheldon's reply, barely. Derek walked across the hall to his room. Sheldon stood frozen for a moment, not believing what just happened. A yawn came through and reminded him to shut the door, turn off the computer and to go to bed. So he did, remembering to set his alarm and definitely dreaming of how beautiful Derek's caress felt.


	7. The Hunt Continues

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** See previous chapter.

**A/N: **Be prepared, this chapter will be a long one**. **I don't know a lot about rituals and things like that so if any of this seems extremely out of place and weird, please tell me. This is new ground for me. Thanks to** mvpl **and** sassyboots4 for **adding me to your alerts list. I'm glad someone is reading this story. I acquired the Fanfic 100 list from **CSIBeauty** and I'm trying to incorporate some of them into my works. Reviews are always welcomed and they help encourage me, good and bad. Sometimes I forget to ask and I assume someone will review. Maybe this one isn't at review status yet. Hmmm, must work on that. Oh, I don't own Rhianna's lyrics or Michael Jackson's song title. I do have a special place in my heart for them though. 8)

Chapter 6: The hunt continues..

Part I Fanfic 100 #41 Teamwork

_**Your mind is in disturbia**_

_**Its like the darkness in the light**_

_**Disturbia, am I scaring you tonight**_

_**Your mind is in disturbia**_

_**Ain't used to what you like, Disturbia, Disturbia**_

_**Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum**_

_**Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum**_

_**Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum**_

_**Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum**_

The sound of Rihanna's voice filled the room. Sheldon's arm reached out for his cell phone on the nightstand so he could turn it off_. Alarm going off too early_, he thought. Then he remembered he was sharing a bathroom with three women. He rose quickly to partake of the quiet time; in an hour, it wouldn't be that way. After finishing, he booted up his computer to take a fresh look at the crime scene pictures. He wanted to make some more notes before he presented it to the team and the local authorities. An hour later, he could hear water running in the bathroom, just as he predicted.

He was deciding what to wear. After all, he didn't know what was in store for him today. He decided tennis shoes for comfort, jeans for comfort (and for his gun and credentials) and a long sleeved button down shirt over his undershirt (long sleeves for the weather) and his favorite cologne. Ok, so the cologne was for Derek. He made sure he had everything he needed- laptop, cords, kit, flash drives, iPod for down times and snacks- before he went off in the search for coffee. He ended up at the diner from the night before and decided to order breakfast, as he couldn't see any of the other team members around. _The quiet before the storm_, he thought.

Reid came into the diner in search of coffee as well. Sheldon was amazed at the amount of sugar he put in it and no breakfast to follow. He remembered the days when it seemed his body ran on caffeine and sugar, his residency for sure. He crashed so much and was so tired. He was glad he managed to get out of that habit quickly. They managed to talk a little about the case before the others soon came in, mostly for coffee. The chief met them there and asked Sheldon if eight gallons of integriswab would be enough. He hoped it would.

They headed back to the station. Garcia immediately began setting up her equipment. Chief Grant showed them the only reports they had ready at the time, mostly preliminary autopsies. Nothing from missing persons yet. They had the club's party book. There were no other parties scheduled for that night, which was rare for this place. The private party was scheduled by a Miles Wheatly. However, a run of his name, number and e-mail address associated with the deposit and payment (both paid in cash) came up fake. The club owner and the appointment taker were sitting down with a police sketch artist to see if they remembered what he looked like. So far, the team was dealing with a young, white male between the ages of 18 and 30. He was about six feet tall, 150 pounds. He had a baritone voice, but Lisa the appointment taker, said he spoke softly as if he was afraid to talk. He seemed shy and nervous, hands somewhat shaky and he didn't stand up straight, his shoulders were rounded. His hair was brown in a soup bowl haircut, but it was low on his forehead and below his ears. He wore jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes and an old army jacket each time. She couldn't be sure if it was the same shirt. He wore an army cap, pulled down on his head, which made it hard to see his eyes. He had a thin moustache, no beard. Ted the owner remembered he had a mole on the left cheek, near his ear.

"From his appearance, I doubt he's the unsub." Em said. Reid agreed.

"He's too unsure of himself. And as nervous and shy as he sounds, I doubt he was even in the room when everything happened. Is it possible to fingerprint the contract he signed? Even if the name was fake, maybe he left a print behind." Reid asked.

"Sure." Asst. Chief Glass handed the contract to Sheldon. He took his finger print dust and lightly dusted it. He was able to get a few prints around the signatures, of course they would have to eliminate Lisa and Ted first. Sheldon then took the finger print scanner and scanned them into the system. It kicked them out because he forgot to run a national search; the scanner was still set on NY. He reset it and let it search as they listened to the autopsy results from the ME, Dr. Ivy. She started the slides.

"The main cause of death for all nine victims was exsanguination, they bled to death. A broad, sharp cutting object caused death; at first glance, it looks like an ax. Since their bodies are still mostly whole it's hard to determine that anything else could have been used. The spines were not touched, organs were barely touched either. Each person was cut like, oh…what's the word?" She paused.

"Like butter flying a piece of meat." Sheldon replied, as he looked closer at the picture. "The ax was so sharp that they used it as a knife and butter flied the body. They didn't have to hack the body. Chief Grant that's why it seems like they were given mercy. It was a smooth slicing, not a hacking."

"Could it have been a chef's knife?" Hotch asked

"I don't think so." Dr. Ivy stated

"Neither do I. The blade is too thick," and he pointed it out on the picture.

"So we're in Washington State. Who would use an ax this sharp?" Asst. Glass asked.

"Lumberjack, firefighter. Maybe someone who makes them and/or sharpens them." Derek replied.

"Landscapers, cabin builders, boat makers. Some roofers use them. There are plenty of rituals around the world that use axes, some Native Americans in this area as well." Reid continued then paused. "Garcia, when you get your systems up and running can you start a search for jobs and places in the areas that use or sell axes?" She nodded, making notes. "We'll probably end up expanding it to Seattle and Lakewood."

"So if the nine were butter flied, what about the other possible five?" Chief Grant asked.

"Other five?" Dr. Ivy asked.

"Yes, I can tell from the blood spatter on the walls," he said showing her the pictures he took, "that there were five other people who standing in these areas. There are five voids. From the blood splatter, I don't think they had the benefit of the butter flying. These people were probably hacked."

"Five more bodies." The ME sighed. "And we have no idea where they are do we?"

"Not right now." Em said. Then she got an idea. "Chief Grant, is there a helicopter available in this county?"

"Two actually. We have an official government one used for police business and there's one used as a tourist attraction. Bob flies people over the woods and the lakes. What did you have in mind?"

"I'm just thinking, there must be a reason that the unsub took the bodies. But they have to be dead by now; there's no way anyone could still be alive after loosing that much blood. I'm just wondering if he/she has buried them. Maybe we could look from the sky for areas of disturbed land. Maybe even the local cemetery."

"Good thinking, Em." Rossi said.

"I never thought about that." Asst. Glass said. The Chief shook his head, the thought never occurred to him either. "I'll call Sam and Bob and see if we can't get a flight plan together." And she left the room.

"Ok, so Sheldon we have the supplies you need. You ok heading over to the crime scene now to get started?" the chief asked.

"Absolutely. The sooner the better." Just then, the station secretary brought in a breadbasket, smelling of fresh muffins and bagels.

"I'm sorry I'm late Chief Grant. I was hoping to have these here before you started your meeting." The plump faced woman said. Her British accent was enchanting, reminding J.J. of someone's grandmother.

"It's ok Grace. I'm sure the agents wouldn't mind something to take with them."She smiled as she set the basket on the table.

"There's muffins, bagels, jams, peanut butter, cream cheese packets and butter pats if anyone wants them."

"Are these homemade?" Reid asked, reaching for a very warm blueberry muffin and a mini-tub of cream cheese. Sheldon was glad he was going to eat something.

"Oh yes. I try to do it a few times a week. Had a little trouble with the yeast this morning." Everyone was reaching for something from the basket.

"These smell so good." Garcia said. Sheldon grabbed a bagel and a peanut butter tub. He put the smooth spread on and placed his bagel in a plastic bag then grabbed a warm banana nut muffin and cream cheese. "You're saving the bagel?" Garcia asked.

"Yea. I found out I get more energy from peanut butter mid morning that I do from just plain caffeine. So that will be my mid-morning snack."

"I love learning new things." She said smiling, glancing at Derek.

"So who's up for the helicopter today?" Grant asked.

"I'll go." Hotch volunteered.

"So will I" Rossi stated.

"I'll stay here with Garcia and research." Reid said.

"Morgan, why don't you go with Sheldon back to the crime scene? Em you up for that?" Rossi asked.

"Sure" She said and Derek nodded. Inside Sheldon smiled.

"J.J., I guess you can go over witness statements, and work more with Ted and Lisa. We may be able to get the sketch out as a person of interest tomorrow. " Hotch said. She nodded.

"I'll send Mark, Ellen and Graham to the scene with you to help. They're our CSI trainees. They don't know a lot but you can help them learn." Just then, Sheldon's fingerprint scanner beeped. It eliminated Ted and Lisa, but the other fingerprints weren't found in the system. "So whoever this guy is never committed a crime, doesn't work for the government, school system or hospital. Back at square one."

"Maybe not. Let me expand the search to include suburbs around Seattle and Lakewood and see what happens." He reset it, gathered his things and was ready to go. Everyone set off for their destinations, hoping to catch a break.

Part II Fanfic 100 #64Multitasking

Hotch, Rossi, Asst. Chief Glass and another officer met Bob and Sam near the airport where they landed. The Asst. Chief told them their plans, what they were looking for and they boarded the helicopters. The police copter took off and began circling around between Cosmopolis and Seattle. Bob took Rossi and his passengers over his normal tourist route. Business had been slow the past few days with the news reports of the murders. If there were any disturbed ground on his route, they would definitely see it.

The CSI van arrived at the crime scene. A bit of a crowd had gathered, littered with some TV and newspapers crews. Sheldon even thought he saw a CNN truck. Of course, they were bombarded with questions as they exited the van. Derek and Em had to hold them off and announce that they had no answers and all questions should be directed at SSA Jenifer Jareau and Police Chief Grant. Someone from park services arrived with barricades to help keep reporters away and the CSIs could unload the van. Derek and Em observed the crowd for a bit while the barricades were being erected, just on the off chance the unsub was coming back to check on the fall out of his "handiwork." It wouldn't be the first time it had happened to them.

Once inside, Sheldon instructed the young CSIs to put on coveralls and shoe covers; it was the best way not to contaminate the scene. The first task was to get the integriswab and t-shirts on the floor. Derek and Em volunteered to cut the shirts in half at the sides. They were thinking of pouring the solution on the floor, but didn't want it to run everywhere before the shirts could be put down. Ellen remembered that there were spraying mechanisms on the van. They were kind of like the sprayers bug exterminators used to spray the bug spray. They attached the sprayers, started at the edge of the circle and sprayed inward. As the blood spot became drenched section by section, the shirts were laid down, overlapping to make sure there was a complete covering. After the entire circle was white, more of the solution was poured down to completely soak the shirts. Then the CSIs walked over the shirts in their covered shoes, to make sure the blood was beginning to soak in.

"When all is said and done these shirts should look like the blood was fresh and we just used them to soak it up." Sheldon stated to everyone. "Now to get down to business."

"Wow. I don't know where to start." Mark said.

"That's why he's here." Ellen replied.

"Well, we'll start with simple observations. You all have note pads right?" They nodded. He filled them in on what they had discovered the night before. He instructed them to stand in the circle, look around and to state what they saw, or didn't see. Graham started looking about and laughed a little.

"What's funny?" Ellen asked.

"Songs jump into my head at the weirdest times."

"Songs? Like what?" Derek asked. He hoped this guy wasn't going to be annoying.

"Michael Jackson's 'Blood on the Dancefloor'"

"Ok", Derek paused "What about it?"

"Well, this is the dancefloor right? There's no blood on it. If the blood spatter at the pentagram points represents where a person was killed, why is there only blood on the wall? Why not the floor?"

"Good question. I missed that last night."

"It wasn't the cleaning crew; they never got a chance to clean up in here. I knew the circle had to be too perfect." Em said.

"Well, if there was a cleaning solvent used, the luminol will show it." Sheldon said. He sprayed some on the floor and waved the light over it. "No blood. What a puzzle. How could there not be any blood here?"

"Maybe the victim was standing in a tub?" Ellen said

"That's mean all five were standing in a tub." Derek said, "It's bigger than that." They were all looking around and thinking.

"How about a tarp? You know, like painters use?" Em said. Sheldon looked.

"That'd be a really big tarp. Not to mention the hole cut in the middle." He stepped back and looked. "But it might be the only explanation. Wait, what about the wax of the floor?"

"Maybe the candles were moved before the killings?" Mark suggested. Sheldon made a suggestion.

"Let's sector off the pentagram by the points, one two three four and five. Let's take three blood samples from each section. Label them a, b, and c. Let's label the wax spots 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. And on the envelopes, draw the pentagram and mark the number where the wax was found. Then we'll measure the blood spatter height. If we can't give a profile on the unsub maybe we can give a victim-ology profile to go along with the missing persons search."

* * *

"We're coming up over the cemetery now. The only deaths have been the kids found in the club and they haven't been buried yet. So any disturbed dirt should jump out at us pretty quickly."Bob said through the headset.

"Good." Rossi replied. The cemetery was larger than Rossi expected it to be. The towns were so small that they shared so much. This was no exception. Rossi and Asst. Chief Glass had their binoculars ready each searching from their own side of the helicopter. He saw one grave where the headstone was being placed. The ground looked a little disturbed, maybe a few weeks old.

"When was the last funeral?"Rossi asked.

"Two weeks ago. Cancer patient. That might be the headstone you see being placed." He nodded. Other than that, neither of them saw any disturbed ground. He did mention that they should check the mausoleum and other places on cemetery grounds.

Sam's helicopter was flying over a large residential part of the county. Hotch and the other officers were looking closely with their binoculars. Five large neighborhoods and nothing unusual yet. They flew over a row of cabins that weren't considered being in the woods. Nothing unusual. By noon, they had flown all the way to Seattle and Lakewood. Hotch made note of some warehouses and abandoned places to check out.

___________________

Part III Fanfic 100 #98 Puzzle

"Ok, guys. Let's take a break. I could use some fresh air." Sheldon said.

"Whoo, me too. This place stinks. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get this smell out of my nose." Ellen said

"I have some peppermint spray you can spray in mask if you need it." Sheldon replied. They all stepped outside and the first breath they took was so cleansing. Derek and Em took a few minutes to update J.J. at the station. Sheldon had grabbed his bagel and a bottle of water. The crowd was still there, shouting at them to get their questions answered. Mark had grabbed water from the van and offered it to his team members.

"So you must see this lot in New York, huh?" Graham asked.

"Not like this. Oh, we see our share of crimes, rarely anything like this. This is just sick on top of sick and I'm afraid we haven't found out the worst yet." Em and Derek walked back to the group and Mark offered them water.

"Any good news?" Ellen asked

"Not really. Still nothing from missing persons. Reid and Garcia are trying to research rituals based on what we've found and are coming up with too many different kinds and not one in particular." Em replied

"Supposed that's the way the unsub wants it?" Mark asked.

"Like a casserole?" Sheldon asked.

"You mean like taking his favorite parts of a ritual and making his own?" Derek thought.

"Yea, I guess like a casserole." He called Reid and Garcia back and put them on speaker.

"Ok, hot stuff what'd you forget to tell me?" She asked. The young trainees laughed. They weren't used to hearing that.

"Mark made a suggestion. What if the unsub wants the ritual to be bits and pieces of other rituals? Is there any way to research that?"

"Hmmm," Reid said."That's certainly an interesting concept. Could certainly explain why so much doesn't make sense. If he/she had taken part in some of these types of rituals they could be replicating what was most liked or most remembered."

"Perhaps these are the parts he/she had to perform?" Sheldon suggested "Or maybe even read about?"

"Wow that seems to make it even sicker. To think that someone could have just read about and killed all these people." Ellen shook her head.

"I doubt the information was read. This person has a following or is a part of a group where he/she is a leader of some sort. This technique was definitely taught." Reid stated.

"Well, let us know if anything comes up." Em said and Derek hung up.

"What now?" Graham asked.

"We'll go in and measure the spatter: widths and height from floor to spatter. It will give us an idea of the heights of the victims and their killers. Now that the wax is up, we can check the floor with the luminol and maybe try for fingerprints on the walls. We'll need to measure the room and see if we can figure out this tarp idea." With that, they all headed back inside.

Once inside they resume their evidence collection. After measuring the spatters, they discovered the killers were between 5'5 and 6 ft. tall. No victim was shorter than 5 ft. Their suspicions about the tarp were further confirmed by finding no blood or cleaning solvents on the floor anywhere. Next, they were on the hunt for fingerprints.

"I've got prints." Graham said, showing two handprints right above the spatter in section three.

"And I found semen." Ellen said. Everyone definitely had a confused look now.

"So there was sex or masturbation involved before the killing?" Em asked.

"Wow, this changes how we envisioned the attack." Sheldon said. "Derek I need your help. You're closer to this height."Derek faced the wall and placed his hand near the prints. Sheldon sprayed the luminol and found seminal fluids with the light as well. "Maybe the sexual stuff was first. The handprints don't seem to make any voids in the blood. Ok, so we can count on finding this at each of the points…" he trailed off, started spraying the solution in places other than the five points, and found the same thing.

"We're dealing with an orgy too?" Ellen was seriously disgusted now. Derek was scratching his head. This case was becoming more confusing by the second.

"Just what the hell went on in here?" Em wondered. Derek shook his head. His phone rang and he stepped away to answer it.

"Seems like the only good thing coming out of this so far is DNA to start a search with. Let's find the fingerprints first. I can put them in the scanner while you gather the seminal fluid. Get at least three samples like we did for the blood, keep the same sectors. I hope we have enough swabs." They set out to finish collecting evidence.

"That was Rossi. So far no disturbed earth. They are going to check out a couple of warehouses they saw from the air before heading back to the station."

An hour had passed Sheldon had all the fingerprints scanned into his digital scanner and it was searching. The young CSIs had just enough swabs to get the semen samples with just a few left over. This case was just blowing everyone's mind. Nothing made sense.

"I wonder if they used the chandelier light or just the candles." Em wondered.

"I wonder if it has evidence on it." Graham said. "How would you even clean it?"

"My aunt and uncle in Memphis, have a chandelier where a switch brings it down about 6 ft. from the floor to clean it. I bet this has one too. Maybe we can find it after we take up the shirts." The shirts were now bloody and ready to be put in the bags. Derek and Em opened bags for them. They tried to label them according to the five main points and the inner four; it might help when they were able to identify the victims. While putting the shirts in bags they all discussed the tarp and the circle size.

"You know, it reminds me of this ride I saw at the fair once in Seattle. It looks like a really tall cage. Everyone had to stand up and strap themselves in and it spins you around. I was too scared to get on it but my brother loved it." Ellen said.

"Oh, I know what you're talking about. This circle just might be that size. But you'd have to have truck to get it in and out." Mark said.

"Well, if the tarp was made to order, why not a cage?" Derek suggested. They finished with the shirts and they were placed in the van. Sheldon found a light panel and there was a switch labeled chandelier.

"We'll lower it and see if it there is any evidence." He flipped the switch the chandelier began to move, towards the ceiling and not the floor.

"It's going the wrong way Sheldon." Em said

"But there's only one switch". Derek took out his phone and began to film what they saw next. Sheldon grabbed his camera and quickly turned it to video. As the chandelier moved into the hole in the ceiling, a black metal cage about 10 ft. tall descended from it. The cage was exactly the same size as the bloody circle.

"Wait, is that a body?" Mark asked. As the cage came closer to the floor and their eye level, Mark's question was answered and then some. Inside the cage, on the floor were two bodies. Each was male and had been hacked almost in half. Their bodies seemed to have been thrown in as if they were rag dolls, unimportant after their use. They were clothed but barefoot, like the other nine in the pictures. The six of them were stunned. They never expected to find something like this. They just wanted to see if anything was on the light fixture. Em stepped away to call the Chief and Hotch. Mark placed a called to Dr. Ivy. Sheldon began snapping pictures of the bodies for the evidence. He found a way to open the cage and took pictures from the inside. No one had a plastic tarp so he didn't take out the bodies.

The Chief brought some officers and gave the crowd five minutes to get in their vehicles and leave or risk being arrested for interfering with a Federal investigation and trespassing. The last car left just in time, right before the ME van showed up. As she and Hotch entered, shock covered their faces.

"Morgan, we need to see if there is another way to get into the ceiling. And we need to know if Ted knows about this." Derek nodded and left to search the upper level and Rossi followed.

"Dr. Hawkes, would you please assist me?" The ME asked. She grabbed a plastic tarp from her kit to lay the bodies on. Sheldon helped her move the bodies from the cage, trying to keep the halves together. Rigor made it difficult. The first young man looked like he was about 6'5 and a basketball player. The second looked like someone the jock would have picked on. He was slim, maybe weighed 110 lbs. Dr. Ivy took the liver temp and confirmed that they died the same day as the others. No markings were found on the bodies.

Upstairs, Dave and Derek found an attic space and searched it. They found the hole and the chandelier was hanging like a bell in a bell tower. The cage would have been a snug fit with about a foot to spare from hitting the roof. They found tables, chairs and boxes. They searched anything that could be opened- doors, boxes, trunks. No bodies. They weren't sure of that was a plus or minus. Just as an extra precaution, they travelled to the basement. Not that the Cosmopolis and Grey Harbors Authorities weren't doing good police work, but they missed the attic space. What else could they have missed? They found no crawl spaces and hidden things in the basement. Nothing smelled like dead bodies.

The bodies were soon on their way to the ME's office and Sheldon was accompanying the CSIs to the lab. There were a lot of shirts to squeeze. Derek and Dave came back up stairs. Nothing to report. The chief locked up the club and everyone was on the way back to the station.

* * *

After helping the CSIs get the DNA testing started, Sheldon walked over to the station to join the others with the information he and the trainees had found. He could smell food as soon as he hit the door. He immediately went to the conference room and plugged up his computers and the digital fingerprint scanner. He plugged the scanner into the NY Lab computer to dump the scans and to let it start searching. He plugged his camera in so he could be able to show everyone the pictures. Garcia brought him a plate of food and a drink.

"Oh thank you. I was just on my way to get something."

"It's ok. I know what it's like to have to set up so much equipment." He took a sip of his soda, much appreciated caffeine at this point. "So how did you like working with Derek?"

"We didn't get to interact as much as I thought we would. Once you see the evidence we collected, you'll understand."

"Well, later at dinner or after, you two should go off together and get to know each other better. Don't talk about work today, just talk to each other. Ok?"

"I would like to. I just hope I'm not too tired." He sighed. Everyone started filing in the room and Derek was glad Sheldon had a plate; he was going to try and start a conversation with by bringing him one.

"Everyone ok with a working lunch? I saw the amount of evidence you guys collected and I'm anxious to see what going on."

"As far as the unsub goes, we have very little. I'm thinking male, between ages 25-40. He's a part of a group, maybe a small leader and that he was taught everything he knows. He's been a part of several rituals and as Mark pointed out, he has taken his favorite parts, the parts he remembers or the parts he personally participated in and made them into a ritual that he likes. We are trying to narrow down the places that sell and use axes but I think the search will go better when we get some of Sheldon's information."

"Sheldon?"

"Well, we don't have much on the unsub but we do have some victim-ology that can be presented as a profile to the public. We have evidence of high school and college aged kids 17-25. From the blood spatter measurements, they are between the heights of 5 ft and the tallest being 6'5. We found evidence of semen, lots of it. The victims standing and hacked were most likely male. That's where the semen was found- on the walls, below the spatter. We do have fingerprints that have been scanned and are being searched now. We have also got the DNA started from all the sources of blood and semen. I hope that we can cross-reference something with the missing persons list. We also found two of the possible five bodies. We found a switch for the light fixture and instead of it being lowered, a 10 ft. cage was. The two males were found there. The cage could also explain how the others were butter flied. They could have possible been strapped in and arms placed in that weird way." He paused. "We also will need to be looking for someone who custom makes tarps. Graham pointed out something I missed last night; there was no blood or cleaning solvent on the floor anywhere. The only explanation is a huge tarp, made with the measurements for the cage in mind. There are some questions to ask Ted. He should know there was a cage in the attic. If his prints come back as being on the cage, he could be a huge part of this."

"So what should we release to the public?" J.J. asked, as she munched on a pickle.

"I would release the Miles Wheatly's sketch as a person of interest. And the victim-ology profile."

"If these are mostly college students, it may take a while for someone to realize they are missing. I know sometimes I didn't see my roommates until Sat. night and everyone was trying to get ready to hit the party. They skip classes, meetings." Derek said.

"Now one of the last victims we found would be pretty easy to miss. He's 6'5 and I can tell he's an athlete, football or basketball. Somebody's team is missing him. Maybe if we showed their faces and distinguishing marks along with their heights, someone will recognize them." Sheldon suggested.

"I agree" Rossi replied.

"Well, let's see what kind of early results you get from the evidence and we can release the victim-ology and person of interest early tomorrow. That way we can be prepared for the phone calls." Hotch said.

* * *

**E/N**: Sorry this was so long. I know its detailed, but I think Derek needs to know what kind of think Sheldon is. Thanks for reading. Hope it wasn't confusing. And I hope I get a few reviews. And don't worry the romance is coming…I promise!!! 8)


	8. Surveying the Land

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Rated T and M for the majority of the story for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** See previous chapter.

Chapter 7: Surveying the land

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to narrow down the victimology profile. Sheldon and the young CSIs tried to get a better handle on the DNA evidence they collected. The shirts were squeezed out before lunch; those DNA results would take a while to separate since there were so many. Now Sheldon was waiting for the fingerprint scanner to search out the missing reports and hopefully kick out a match, giving them a lead. Meanwhile he and the trainees began trying to match what DNA they did have, matching blood and semen. Sheldon also did the analysis on the cage and found Ted's prints all over it. Hotch was immediately notified.

"Ted, did you know there was a 10 ft. cage that lowers itself and raises the chandelier when the chandelier flip is switched on the light panel? And that your prints were found all over it?" Derek asked. Hotch, Em and Chief Grant watched from behind the interrogation glass. Ted sighed deeply.

"Yes, I know about the cage."

"Care to explain?" Rossi asked.

"It's a dancing cage. It's one of the reasons people like the 'inner sanctum' so much. We would have dancers in there depending on the party."

"You didn't think to mention this?"

"No. Why? Is there a problem?"

"You could say that. This is how we believed those young people were killed. In addition, we found two more kids in the cage. We also believe that the unsub had a tarp built to the specifications of this cage. Where did you have it built?"

"I didn't. The cage was there when I took over the club."

"And you've never had it serviced?"Derek asked.

"Not once. It's never broken or stopped." Outside the interrogation room, Chief Grant was filled with questions.

"We'll have to go back out tomorrow and see if we can figure out who made that crazy contraption. Who could have gotten the cage specifics to make a tarp? It had to be someone who worked in the club. I can't see a patron having enough time to measure something like this while people were walking about and watching dancers in the cage."

"I wonder if anyone specifically asked about the cage for a party. Maybe it was measured then. I'll go check the party book." Em paused. "Here's a crazy thought, what if the person who made the cage or had it made, had the tarp made? He wouldn't have to ask anyone about the specifications; he would have already had them."

"Makes sense. Necessity is the mother of invention. Wonder which he thought of first." Grant said.

"We should ask Lisa about it too. Take Assist. Glass with you when you do." Em nodded and walked towards the front of the station.

"I can't tell if Ted is involved in any way with this." Grant said.

"I don't think he is directly, meaning that he wasn't committing the crimes. I think he may have been suspicious of something and not known how to handle it."

"How so?"

"Well, he definitely hasn't made any connections about it. Spread out over time, not many would. We're dealing with a highly intelligent unsub. It's possible he scouted out this place for months after seeing the cage. Or if he did indeed build it, he needed to see the context it was being used. He probably sent in several people to 'check' out the place for a party or to actually attend a party. Random enough that they wouldn't be noticed." Hotch said.

"Doesn't explain how the two bodies were found. Club patrons aren't supposed to touch the lights; they aren't even supposed to know where they are."

"No, it doesn't. We need a closer look at the employees." Hotch knocked on the glass and Rossi came out to see what he needed. "We need to know more about those dancers. I didn't see that position listed on the employee roster. And make him give you a full employee list, even past employees. I'll have Prentiss ask Lisa for one as well. Then we'll cross-reference with Garcia. Something is not right here. He's not telling all he knows."

"He genuinely seems like the murders were a surprise to him. If he is involved, it's minimal. I think he just provided a place. You know, like a friend asks you to run him on an errand, you oblige not knowing he's going to rob the bank you take him to." Rossi answered before he went back in. Hotch left the Chief to give Em the new instructions.

"Do I need a lawyer?" Ted asked, looking at Rossi.

"I don't know. Have you done something or have knowledge of something being done that would merit a visit from a lawyer?" Rossi asked. He shifted in his seat.

"No that I know of."

"Good, then you won't mind giving us a list of the dancers' names or agency where you get them from and a list of former employees." He slid a piece of paper and a pen across the table at him and they waited for him to write.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the lab…

"Well those are definitely Ted's prints." Mark stated. Sheldon had just walked back into the lab.

"Hey guys, that was Hotch. Ted knew abut the cage, said there were supposed to be dancers in the cage. Apparently, it was used quite often. So finding his prints may not be as big of a deal as we thought."

"I guess that could explain the rest of the mismatched prints. A few of them match the victims in the circle but not the ones you collected today," commented the lab Director Stacy. "Well, we have successfully matched all of our known victims to their prints, now if we just knew their names. None of the males in the circle matches the semen on the wall but it looks like our ball payer was standing in sector three. Matched by hand prints, semen and blood. The other young man was in sector five matched by handprints, semen and blood."

"Two down and how many to go? The scanner hasn't picked up any missing persons yet. That really concerns me. Either these kids aren't from this area or no one is looking for them."

"Hard to believe no one is looking for them. And there are so many." Ellen said.

"What else can we do?"

"We keep analyzing the DNA, making sure we get complete the profiles as complete as we can, keep checking missing persons and praying at this point wouldn't be a bad thing." Stacy said. Sheldon glanced over at the clock.

"Maybe we should take off for the day. It's already after four and I need to brief everyone. Not much else we can do until the tests finish running. You guys did a great job today," he said turning to the trainees. "I think you're going to make great CSIs and I think this case will always be an awesome reference point for you."

"Thanks for the encouragement." Mark said.

"Go home and eat and I'll see you in the morning." Sheldon left to walk back to the station. He wanted to check on the status of his computer researches. Once inside the conference he sat down at the computer and scanner to see if any new information had come up and none had. Derek had come back in from re-interviewing people in the surrounding businesses and saw that Sheldon was back in the station. He was thinking that he should take Garcia's advice and ask him out. Small talk first.

"Anything new?" Derek asked, startling Sheldon a bit.

"Huh, oh nothing yet. I'm having a hard time believing that we haven't had hit in missing persons yet."

"I think all that will change when we release the victimology and person of interest sketch."

"I've been thinking about the ritual aspect of this and something crossed my mind about their entwined arms. But I need to check with my colleague Stella back in New York."

"What came to mind?"

"Something Greek. Stella is half-Greek, half-Italian. I was going to try and reach her on iChat before she leaves for the day."

"Maybe Reid would like to sit in, maybe ask her some questions. I'll go and get him; he and Garcia are researching some stuff." Sheldon has sent her a text earlier and she agreed to meet via webcam. He set up the computer and Stella joined before the others came to the room.

"Hey Sheldon, how are things in Washington?"

"Not so bad. This case is crazy though. We have no real leads yet. I'm waiting for Dr. Reid to join us so we can pick your brain about something."

"Cool."

"How's everyone there?"

"We're hanging there. A great CSI on leave makes difference."

"Sure does."

"Hey Lindsay."

"Mind if I join in too?"

"Hey Mac. No, it's cool with me. You'll get to meet the BAU team in a few minutes."

"So, did you get to meet Garcia's friend Morgan?" Sheldon smiled and blushed.

"Yea, I did."

"Hawkes, you blushing? Why?" Mac asked.

"Yea, I am," he looked to see if anyone was rounding the corner yet. "I met Morgan and he's hella gorgeous."

"Really?" Stella asked. "Good for you. You think something can mature between the two of you?"

"Maybe." Just then, the BAU team and Chief Grant walked in. "Hey guys, I've got some of my colleagues on iChat so we can maybe ask some questions. This is my lab supervisor Lt. Mac Taylor, Det. Stella Bonasera second in command and Det. Lindsay Monroe-Messer."

"I think you hyphenate my name more than my husband and I do." Everyone laughed bit.

"Lt. Taylor, I'm SSA Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. Let me introduce the BAU team, SSA David  
Rossi, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA and Communication Liaison Jennifer Jareau, SSA Derek Morgan, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia." Each one waved their hand as their name was called. "And this is Cosmopolis Police Chief Fredrick Grant and Assistant Chief Carla Glass. Thanks for agreeing to help us."

"And thank you for lending us Sheldon. He's been very helpful and we are absolutely swamped. We weren't able to get any help from Seattle." Grant said.

"You're welcome. Glad we could lend out one of our best. How can we help you?"

"Mac, I'm sending the crime scene photos to the lab now. Right now, we have nine victims found in the circle, with five that were killed standing up. We found two of those that were standing as we discovered the cage." Hotch filled them in on more of the case as they viewed the pictures.

"So how many are you still looking for?" Mac asked.

"According to the evidence so far, we think between three and seven." Hotch answered.

"Wow this cage is scary." Lindsay commented. "And the way they were found, so strange."

"That's a part of the big puzzle. We've figured out it's a ritual of some kind, but don't have enough of one thing to single out one particular ritual." Reid said.

"That's why I wanted to pick your brain Stella. As I was looking at the pictures, it reminded me of something Greek. Do you know of any rituals or rites of passage that involve the arms being intertwined like that?" Sheldon asked. She thought about it.

"No rituals or rites. Dances maybe."

"Dances?" Reid asked.

"Yes, there are some folk dances. Some done at weddings, family reunions, mostly celebrations. I saw one done at a memorial service once when I was about eight. I was confused so I asked my Ya-Ya what it meant. She said it was a celebration of the person's life. I just thought it was weird to dance at a funeral."

"What are some of these dances?" Reid asked, ready to take notes.

"Let's see, group dances uh…there's the Karagouna. That's spelled K-a-r-a-g-o-u-n-a." Reid and Garcia both were taking notes. "This one is more for flirting. Men stand in a line behind the women and end up dancing with the one if front of him. It was a way to introduce dating age young people to each other. There's the Karsiliua, a couple's dance. Spelled K-a-r-s-i-l-i-u-a."

"Anything in a circle?"

"Hmmm, _hora_ dances. The Tsakonikos, T-s-a-k-o-n-i-k-o-s, is a sacred circle dance, sometimes called the crane dance. There's a story behind it. Theseus learned it from Araidne on the Isle of Delos. She gave him a thread that he was supposed to use to help him get out of the Labyrinth. He was going to search for the Minotaur. They call it a circle dance; it's more like a semi-circle dance. There are steps specific to each region. There are two semi-circles and cross in front and around. Kind of hard to describe without seeing it."

"Do the two ends ever connect?"

"Not really. There are some versions that do touch like the wedding dance. Do you remember my cousin Cindy's wedding Sheldon? Some versions are like that."

"Vaguely. There were a lot of people doing that circle dance but I wasn't really paying attention." Stella chuckled, remembering that Sheldon was trying to flirt with her gay Greek cousin, oddly named Adonis and her Italian cousin Giovanni was trying to flirt with Sheldon. A secret only shared between the two of them.

"I don't know if it helps any."

"It does some. Gives me something to search and read about." Reid said.

"Anything you can help us with on the photos?" Glass asked.

"Not at the moment. Sheldon, how'd you get the DNA from the circle?"

"We used t-shirts like we did in the Ginger case, you remember with the murders of humans and animals?"

"Oh, yeah. One of the cases you did in your first year with us."

"The DNA is still being separated."

"I bet. The area in the Ginger case was nowhere near the size of what you guys have." Stella said.

"We're releasing the sketch of a person of interest and a victimology profile to go along with missing person searches nationwide overnight. I'm not sure I want to release the facial photos of the victims just yet; I want to see what leads we get without it."

"We'll keep an eye out for it here. And I'll take a fresh look at the photos in the morning and let you know if I can see anything different."

"I can check around in Greek community tomorrow and see what I can dig up for you. So you think this is a Greek ritual?"

"Not exactly," Reid said. "We think the unsub is taking bits and pieces from rituals he's been in or watched. These murders are not exactly one thing. That's where we're so stuck."

"Huh, like a casserole." Lindsay said.

"What is it with everybody and the casserole today? I guess dinner is in order then. Thanks Lt. Taylor, we look forward to anything you could provide us with." Hotch said.

"No problem. I'm always in favor of helping other arms of the law catch the bad guys. Thanks for including us." The room emptied and Sheldon was still on screen with his friends.

"Yea, hella gorgeous doesn't quite get it Sheldon." Stella teased. "Does he have any single straight brothers or cousins?"

"Oh my gosh, Stella you have no idea. I don't know yet. Hoping to find a little more about him soon."

"Sheldon, take the chance if you feel the chance is there," Mac said. "Don't let it slip away."

"Thanks, Mac. I don't intend to. There is a little bit of chemistry. After we leave here I will have at least two more weeks to figure out my chances."

"From here, they look pretty good." Stella smiled.

"Sheldon, go eat and I'll let you know if we find anything."

"Thanks guys." He closed down the iChat and turned off the computer. As he was placing his stuff in his bag, Derek came back into the conference room.

"Hey Sheldon, I was just wondering if you'd like to grab some dinner. I could use a drink and there is a bar that serves food on the opposite side of the hotel." Sheldon tried not to should too happy.

"Sure. I would like to take a shower first and wash off today. That cool with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. How about I meet you in the lobby about 7:30?"

"Good. Gives me just enough time to get in the shower before the ladies come back." He smiled as he left. The BAU team was going of the victimology profile that would be released to the public with the Chief and Asst. Chief. They would release it nationwide over night, making sure it would be picked up by the major news networks since the ages of the missing persons were of college students.

Once in his room, Sheldon hurried to the shower, making sure their door was locked. He heard the ladies come in as he was drying off. He could hear Garcia say that he must be in the shower. Then he could hear Em asking if Derek had asked him out yet. Garcia didn't know so she called his and Reid's room to fund out.

"He's in the shower Garcia." She conveyed the news to her roommates.

"Well, do you know if he asked Sheldon to dinner?"

"I don't know. It's possible. He did have a happy smile on his face."

"Hmmm. Well, are you heading to the diner for dinner?"

"Probably so. You?"

"Yeah. What time should we meet you in the lobby?"

"Twenty minutes? I need to call and say good night to my babies"

"How cute. Tell them Auntie Pen said night-night for me."

Sheldon was on his way back to his room and he unlocked their door as he went into his room and locked his. _What should I wear…,_ he wondered._ It_ _is a bar. Let's go casual. Black jeans? No, khakis. Even_ _better. Blue shirt, brown shoes. Stop rushing, undershirt first, Sheldon_. He shook he head at himself.

""Why am I so nervous? It's just dinner." _Are you sure it's not a date?_

"No, I'm not." He looked at himself in the mirror. "I'm so nervous, I'm talking to myself. And answering. Wow. Must find out why he makes me feel this way." Sheldon went light aftershave for the evening, Avon's Black Suede. What were his chances that Derek would get close enough to detect it? When Derek got out of the shower, Reid was in the hallway talking with his husband and their children; it was nearly bedtime for the little ones. He decided to wear jeans since he wore trousers for work. Long-sleeve casual dark green shirt. His sister Desi insisted that it was his color. He liked the way it fit, just had to deal with the color. Light spray of Avon's Black Suede and he was ready to meet the handsome doctor in the lobby.

Sheldon headed downstairs to wait for Derek in the lobby. He was smiling to himself, wondering what the night would bring. He was suddenly smiling a big, happy smile when he heard Derek say:

"Sheldon, you ready to go?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

**E/N**: Ok, I did some research on the Greek dances. However, if you are from Greece or Greek heritage and you are reading this and can help shed some light, please do. I would greatly appreciate it. 8)


	9. Dinner

**Warning: This is a slash romance between two men. I'm changing the rating for the story to M for with this chapter for sexual situations, language, and job related gore. This chapter has contains a conversation about non-consensual sex (rape) and derogatory/bigoted nicknames. If you are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. **

**Disclaimer:** See previous chapter.

**A/N:** This chapter will be long. Derek and Sheldon finally get to talk. It might seem somewhat cute by the end. I haven't found any info on the names of Sheldon's parents of Derek's dad, so they're made up. I would love to see some reviews. I think this is the only story I have that hasn't had a review. Even if you just need to ask a question. Thanks is advance. 8)

**Chapter 8: Dinner**

Derek held the door open for Sheldon and they began walking down the street to the local bar. "The weather is nicer than I thought it would be." Sheldon commented.

"Not too chilly."

"Nope, and I expected it to be raining everyday like in Seattle. I guess they still get a good portion of rain."

"Glad it hasn't rained so far."

"Me too." They approached the bar and smelled the good food wafting outside the door. Derek, being a perfect gentleman, opened the door again for Sheldon. A waitress told them to sit wherever they liked and someone would be there soon to take a drink order. They chose a table and sat down. The bar's menu was hanging on the wall at each table.

"Unique place for a menu." Derek said looking at it, trying to decide what to eat. A waitress soon approached and asked them for their drink orders.

"I'll have beer; whatever on tap is fine." Sheldon said.

"Make it two." Derek said.

"Thank you gentlemen. I'll be back in a minute with your drinks and to get your food order." They both smiled and looked at the menu. It was typical bar food- wings, nachos, chicken fingers, fries, chili fries, etc. The waitress came back with their beers and took their orders. Sheldon ordered a steak with a loaded baked potato and Derek the wings and fries.

"So, Doctor tell me more about you. Garcia seems to think I should get to know you better. I'm thinking I should too." Sheldon smiled at that.

"Hope I don't disappoint," he said, taking a sip of his beer.

"I doubt you will. Tell me more about your family."

"Well, my parents are Roberta and Stanley. I am the youngest of two. Took my parents six weeks to name me; guess they couldn't find one they liked. My dad had a painting business, so you can guess what my summers were like."

"Full of painting?"

"Yep. People didn't believe he had a business degree. School didn't come easy for him, but he worked hard and was a really good businessman. My two cousins head it up now and he helps on consulting and stuff. My worked in the New York school system. She taught English and reading to seventh graders. That's where I got my love of reading. She works with the GED program, still helping people to read.

I had an older sister Maya. We were five years apart. When she became an adult she kind of lived life in her own terms, turned to drugs and partying. She turned her back on the family. Drugs have a way of doing that. We fell apart after that. I was concentrating on school. At one point, she did try to get her life back on track, but she was killed before she could. She's been gone about 10 years."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Was her killer ever found?"

"Sort of. He was on death row in New Jersey for a home invasion/murder, but not my sister's murder. They never found out who he was. He knew who I was and asked that I be a witness at his execution. Right before he was led down the hall he was apologizing to me about my sister and I didn't know why. Then a guard died right before the injections were to be administered and all hell broke loose. A guy we put in prison was trying to escape and a prison riot broke out."

"And you were inside?"

"Yep. My sister's killer actually helped keep me alive by finding me a uniform to wear and moving me through the prison. Eventually he told me everything."

"Not many people can say they've had an experience like that."

"No one should. It's not one I care to repeat."

"So what about school? How'd you finish so fast?"

"Just kind of breezed through it. I know, sounds simple. But I worked hard, extra hard. I went to summer school and took the maximum amount of hours for summer and regular sessions. It was hard, I can't lie. Seems like I was reading all the time. I was 24 when I started my surgery career."

"I bet. What made you want to go into medicine?"

"I wanted to help people. Surgery seemed like a great place to be. Nothing like the rush of surgery, until you have to deliver bad news. I was able to talk with patients and families. And after the two incidents happened and I couldn't really be there for the patients anymore. It shook my faith in myself, a lot. I couldn't really be there for myself. So I figured I could work in the ME's office. Those people were dead; no chance of hurting them.

After a few years of meeting the police detectives and CSIs at crime scenes and having them come to the morgue, I thought about being a CSI. I think my time as a doctor and in the ME's office help me in being a CSI; I have an angle most people don't have." The waitress brought their food. Derek immediately stuck his finger in the side cup of ranch dressing to taste it, licking his finger. It enticed Sheldon so that he had to quickly snap himself out of it. "So what made you want to be a FBI agent?"

"Well, it all started with my dad, Jerome. That's where my middle name comes from. He didn't want to name me junior. You know every little boy wants to follow in their dad's footsteps. He was Chicago PD and I wanted to be just like him. He was killed in the line of duty when I was eight. It was hard on my mom Fran with my two sisters, Desiree and Sarah and me. She worked at the cleaners for a while and was working as a seamstress part time.

When I was around age 12, I was on my way to being one of the new statistics- young, black males without a father in a home. I was hanging around kids who were being bad influences on me. We were skipping school, vandalizing, some were in gangs and trying to get me in one. One the guys in the group robbed a store and the police chased and caught us all. I was so scared my mom was going to kill me. The storeowner couldn't really tell who stole what. I didn't steal anything; I was just wrong place wrong time. So to keep me from going to juvenile detention she found a community center and a director, Carl Buford, who was willing, to help me stay out of jail and be responsible for me. He was the community center's football coach too." Sheldon had taken a few bites of steak, not realizing how hungry he really was.

"I'm assuming it worked?"Derek took a log sip of his beer, to steady his nerves for what he was about to tell Sheldon next. It wasn't really the kind of information you would share on a first date. But he guessed if there was going to be a chance for a relationship; honesty would most definitely have to play a part.

"He kept me out of juvie but put me in a different kind of jail. The jail of molestation." Sheldon frowned, causing a wrinkle in his forehead.

"What? You were molested?" Derek nodded.

"From about age 13-18." Sheldon was in shock. He felt an ugly twinge in his stomach. After seeing it happen to a few family members, friends and countless victims, he knew molestation could change person's life forever. "I didn't know what was happening at first. He said I had to do in order to stay on the team and stay out of jail. I knew it wasn't right, but he was the only thing keeping me out of juvie. As I got older, I would try to find ways to avoid him but he would threaten to tell my mom and I couldn't have that. So I played along with the blackmail. There was an upside though."

"An upside after so many years of abuse?"

"My grades went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs. I received academic and athletic scholarships. I was glad to go to school, to get away from him. I didn't have to see him anymore. He and his family would accompany my mom and sisters to my games sometimes. I would refuse to talk to him and my mom didn't understand why. Even then I still couldn't tell her."

"You did eventually tell her right?"

"Yes, but I was forced to. I was content with her not knowing. I know that's sad to say; I was going to take the secret to my grave with me. However, we had a case that brought us to Chicago involving molested boys and one had been murdered. My world began to fall apart when I discovered it was him. I couldn't believe he was still doing it. All this time I thought I had been the only one. I had no other indications as a teen that it was happening to anyone else. No one on the team really knew that part of my life. I didn't share it, didn't want anyone to know I had been that vulnerable."

"He's in jail now right?"

"Illinois State Prison for life. I wanted to spare my mom. Even after all these years, she was still helping to support the center and all the good he was doing for boys without dads like me. I couldn't control the guilt she felt when she found out that it had been done to me and for how long. She trusted him, we both did. He didn't fail on his promise though; he kept me out of jail. The week after that case was hard. We all cried like the day my father was shot. There was a lot of hurt." Derek took another long drink of his beer. He was hoping he wasn't going to need something stronger. He usually did when he thought of or talked about that time as a teen.

"Your relationship sounds good and strong."

"It is, had to be to put our family back together. All that he had done messed me up in college though. I was always trying to be the ladies man but was having trouble. I wasn't able to develop sexually as I should have. I probably would've have taken Viagra or something if it had been available. I didn't connect it at first.

Some friends and I had fake ids made and snuck into a triple x move house. Somehow, I got stuck in the theater that was playing gay porn. I was intrigued, but I didn't know why. What Buford did to me was disgusting, but I loved what I saw on the screen. They were enjoying it. I didn't think what he did to me was enjoyable, could be enjoyable. It hurt and I hated it. But these men loved it; they were excited- smiling and laughing.

I was trying to get out of there and find my friends before they saw me but I couldn't move. I wanted to know why their experience was so pleasurable and mine horrible. They caught me and laughed at me, teasing me, calling me faggot, fudge packer, batty boy and gay boy. I denied it. I lied and told them I thought they were in that theater and I just couldn't see them. It was a bad night."

"What'd you do?"

"I left with them and a few days later I went back by myself. I saw this guy from one of my classes, Lewis. He was a little older and had seen me there with my friends. He was asking what movie I was there to see. I didn't want to let him know, but I think he knew why I was there. He took my hand and led me to the theater. He was explaining what was going on, what the men were doing. I didn't have a clue what anything was called. Even though it had been done to me, learning about it was a new experience. Afterwards, we went for coffee and talked some more. He asked if I was gay and I told him I didn't know and briefly, told him what had happened to me. A few days later, he asked me out on a date. I guess he figured if he was going to be my first real sexual experience that we should be a couple so I would be more comfortable.

We dated for about a month before anything happened. We had kissed and fondled a little. He had an apartment off campus, which was great 'cause there was no way in hell I was going to let him teach me anything in the thin walls of the dorms. We had to be careful during that month though 'cause it was still very much football season and I didn't want to be accused to messing up the game for having sex the night before. But after we were eliminated from the playoffs, all bets were off."

"Much more enjoyable experience."

"Of course! I mean it still hurt because it was my for real first time, but it felt so different. We were having conditioning practices one day and I blew out my knee. Had to have surgery and I had the hardest time explaining to my mom who Lewis was and why he was at the hospital so much with me. She didn't understand at first, but I told her I liked him but I didn't know if I was gay. I was still internally struggling with the whole Buford situation. However, when I decided that this was something I wanted and not something he forced on me, I was able to come out to her, my sisters and grandmothers. Acceptance and support was slow, but it was there. And I felt so fortunate; so many guys and girls I know didn't have that. What about you? What's your gay story?" Sheldon paused and wiped his mouth.

"Nothing quite like yours. I actually had a girlfriend in a high school. It took us a long time to even kiss and I just thought it was because she was scared, but I know now it was me. One day I heard something in the hall about some guys saying that they were going to 'mess up' this guy Frank after school. He was a little feminine, but no one really knew if he was gay or not."

"What'd they mean by 'mess up'? Beat him up?"

"Would have been less humiliating if they had. They found another guy who was a little feminine too, Ernie. Now Ernie was gay, we all knew it. Someone told Ernie that Frank wanted to talk to him, get his number or whatever. After school, a group of us was standing far off where we could see but not be seen, as if we were waiting for the bus or something. They met under the bleachers, started talking and before we knew it they were kissing. We all just fell silent; none of us had really seen two guys kiss before. They were groping each other then Ernie was kneeling in front of Frank, unzipping his pants and performing oral sex on him.

The guys I was standing with were grossed out and ran; I couldn't move. I didn't know why but I just stood there. Like you, I guess I was intrigued. When he finished he turned Frank towards the wall, took something out of his pocket-, which I know now was probably some type of lubricant- and had sex with him against the wall. I was shocked and scared 'cause it was making my body feel something it had never felt before. It wasn't like any wet dream I'd ever had. I had to run to a bathroom stall and relieve myself before I could go home on the train, hoping no one would walk in on me. And now I feel like I've told you too much information." Derek chuckled and took another sip from his beer.

"Nah, we're just being honest up front. Was your first gay relationship in high school?"

"No, summer after my college freshman year. His name was Chris. I went to a gay student meeting that was being held on campus and I saw him there. I was looking for a way to talk to my parents about what I was feeling, thinking about coming out. We were taking biology together in summer school. We started up a conversation. After that, it seemed like we were inseparable. Until he cheated on me about two months later. I was devastated. However, I quickly learned that some guys are only about that thing. Soon as he got what he wanted from me he was on his way."

"How long did you make him wait?"

"Three months. I wanted to be sure I was ready before I gave it up. In hindsight, I should have waited. He probably would have moved on because I wasn't ready. Who was your best relationship?" Derek didn't have to think long on that at all.

"Probably Mark and Spencer."

"Spencer as in Dr. Reid?"

"Yep."

"How long were you together?"

"Almost four years. He let me be myself. I have a lot of walls built up and instead of forcing me to tear them when I wasn't ready, he just climbed over them and sat with me. We were together when we caught Buford. He stayed with my mom and me that week after. He wanted to be a part of the healing. I think I loved him and Marc the most. Marc was bisexual though. And really didn't want to share him. He liked manly sex, kind of rough all the time. He would save all the sensual stuff for the woman he was seeing. I didn't know there was a woman for a while. After a while I couldn't handle it anymore and had to let him go."

"Why did you and Spencer break up?"

"It was mutual. At first, we felt like we needed space. It was hard for us to realize it at first. We worked and lived together so we saw each other all the time _and_ we were talking marriage. We tried a trial separation for a month. He moved in with Garcia. We went on dates and saw each other at work, but it we weren't all over each other. I remember one night I needed Spencer so bad, really horny but she wouldn't let me spend the night. I even told her she could listen and she wouldn't let me." They both laughed.

"One month turned to three and he got his own apartment and things were back like when we first started dating. We still loved each other but the separation taught us that we needed a clean break, to see if we wanted our relationship to be forever. We set some ground rules- dating someone else was allowed but we had to tell them the situation up front, no sex with anyone else, no making our friends choose sides. It didn't take long for him to meet Simon. And Simon really wanted to be with Spencer because he waited seven almost eight months to be in a relationship with him. Spencer realized he had feelings for him when sat down and talked about where our relationship was headed. So we agreed to break up. He took some time for himself and then they started dating. Now they are married with a family."

"Children? How many?"

"Two. Lilli and Daniel." He pulled out his phone and showed him their family picture. Simon was a handsome black man, about six feet tall, brown skinned like Sheldon. Lilli was three and Daniel was six. "They had two friends who agreed to be surrogates. They worked it out so each child would be biracial and reflect their relationship. Lilli is Spencer's biological child, Daniel is Simon's."

"That's a beautiful picture. The kids are adorable."

"Yeah, they are. They're incredibly smart too. Daniel loves to play chess. When I was six, I could barely say the word chess. So who was your best?"

"That'd be Troy. We met at the hospital. He had been out of his residency two years. We ended up in the on call room one night at the same time. Most doctors try not to be in when someone else is trying to sleep but we both we tired and didn't care. Neither of us knew the other was gay at first. One of the nurses I was cool with was trying to hook me up with her brother. She told me that he had found a boyfriend and Troy was standing near and heard. He was about 5'9, pretty blue eyes, and curly blond hair. He was extremely handsome. We started dating and one night we were both on call and almost got caught making love in the on call room. We eventually moved in together- made it easier to see each other with our schedules.

He ended up having to move back home to Boston for a while and we were long distance. His mom was taking care of his dad who had a stroke and his grandmother who had severe diabetes and dementia. We lasted about another eight months before the distance got to us."

"So long distance romances aren't good for you?"

"I'm ok with them, as long I get to see my man. We hardly saw each other; three times in the eight months. In the end it wasn't enough to sustain us." Derek nodded. Sheldon understood why he asked that question. If they were to be together, a long distance relationship would be necessary.

Each man had finished his dinner and the waitress had brought the check. Before Sheldon could ask her to separate it, Derek handed her his credit card.

"I could have paid for my own dinner." Sheldon said.

"I know, but I asked you out. And when I ask, I always pay." Sheldon was impressed. If he wasn't sure they were on a date before, he did now. Sheldon went to the men's room while Derek waited for her to bring his receipt. She brought back his card and receipt as Sheldon came back.

"What shall we do know?"

"I'm going to the men's rooms first and then maybe we can take walk and continue talking. I think I saw a park across the street."

"Ok. I'll wait for you outside." Sheldon walked out to the sidewalk and put a mint in his mouth. He wished he had brought a dinner brush with him to brush his teeth. Oh well, the mint would be good. Just in case. The BAU team was sitting in the diner attached to the hotel and they could see Sheldon and then Derek as he joined him and walked across the street to the park.

"So it was a date." Reid commented.

"Good for them." Garcia commented. "I told Sheldon that he and Derek should take some time to talk, get to know each other."

"You think they have real chemistry?" Hotch asked

"Oh yes. Can't you see it?" Em asked. Hotch shook his head, not yet.

"Well, I think they're a good fit. I just hope they're good with long distance relationships." J.J. said.

"You know, if they end up in a relationship and Morgan really misses him that bad, Strauss will approve him to move to New York and let him take over as Unit Chief." Hotch said.

"Is she still trying to get him up there?" Rossi asked.

"God yes. She's dragging her feet in assigning someone else though. They have an interim chief right now and her supervisor wants a permanent person in the position, soon. Things are better, but she really doesn't want anyone else in that position but him." Hotch replied.

"Does he realize how serious she is about it?" Em asked.

"I think he has an idea. I don't think he knows just how serious. She makes mention of it every time she see him. I told her to back off a bit before her enthusiasm puts him off the idea completely."

"You don't think she'd force him to take the job do you?" Reid asked.

"I wouldn't put it past her. To be honest I thought she would have done it by now. I think she really wants him to accept the position on his own."

* * *

**In the park…. **

Derek and Sheldon walked across the street to the park. It was a nice park with benches and what looked like an area for dogs, like a mini dog park. There was playground equipment, a soccer field, basketball court and picnic tables. Sheldon had his hands in his pocket and was looking around the park with his back to his dinner companion. Derek let out a low growl at the sight of this handsome man. He didn't think Sheldon had heard his growl.

"What's that for?"

"Oh nothing. Just thinking if we were at a club I would love to walk up behind you, slip my arms through yours, put my hands around your waist and whisper something sexy in your ear." Sheldon turned to face him, smiling. Derek was leaning on the back of a bench with his legs crossed at his ankles.

"Whisper something sexy like what?"

"Ummm, How about a dance with the man of your dreams or maybe If you leave with me now, I guarantee I'll make it worth your time." Sheldon laughed. "What? That wouldn't make you want to leave the club with me?"

"Oh no! Those really work in Virginia?"

"Sometimes.." Derek smiled.

"Definitely wouldn't work on me."

"How about, Your parents must be great sculptors to craft a beautiful price of art like you?"

"Nope," Sheldon laughed

"Let me try, uh, Remind me to thank Mr. Sandman for making my dream come true?"

"Seriously? No." He shook his head.

"Gentlemen prefer blonds but I prefer you?" Sheldon just continued laughing

"No."

"Well what _would_ get you to leave the club with me?" Sheldon paused and thought.

"What would get me to leave?" Derek pulled Sheldon closer to him and turned him around so he was facing the opposite direction. He slipped his arms through Sheldon's and placed his arms around his waist. Sheldon felt himself blush, being so close to him. Derek was trying very hard to resist the urge to brush his lips against Sheldon's neck and ear lobe. Sheldon looked back at him giving him a nervous glance.

"What? For inspiration…" Sheldon, feeling butterflies took a deep breath and said:

"I've been running into lame guys all night who's only thought is sex. If I provide coffee, can a handsome man like you provide me with the conversation I'm craving?" Derek was quiet.

"That would make you leave the club with me?" Sheldon nodded. "Which part, the coffee or conversation?"

"Both. I like both," he said shyly and smiling. Their eyes locked and Sheldon leaned in as if he was going to kiss Derek, but hesitated. He closed his eyes, taking in Derek- his cologne, his closeness, his breathing and Sheldon was sure he could hear Derek's heartbeat. Derek pulled Sheldon a little closer, preparing to kiss him.

"How about a ki..."

"Uh, how about we change the subject," Sheldon suggested, realizing that he wasn't ready to kiss Derek yet. He moved from in front of Derek but Derek was still holding his hand. It was then he noticed the calluses. The doctor in him spoke up. "So what do you do when you're not chasing criminals to callous your hands so?" He asked taking the other and looking at it.

"Sometimes I teach the gun techniques class for the academy. Sometimes I teach self-defense classes for the academy and the local community center. Calluses come with the job." Sheldon gently rubbed the calluses, imaging what they would feel like caressing his body, blushing again at the thought.

"What about you? How do you wind down from solving crimes?"

"I read, listen to music. Twice a month I'm a volunteer doctor. I ride a bike around Central Park and help people with minor injuries. I teach health classes to kids at the community center. I try to mentor young people when I can. Try to get them to read, help with homework that kind of thing."

"I like man with a heart for the people." Derek said smiling.

"Seems like you have the same kind of heart."

* * *

**The view from the diner…**

"I wonder what they're talking about." Garcia said, glancing at the new relationship possibly developing.

"I know. Wish could read lips." Em said.

"I see smiles and laughter. That's gotta be a good sign, right?" Said Reid.

"We hope so." J.J. smiled. They watched their friend, their family member, enjoying the company of a man who was making him smile. He hadn't smiled like that in a long time. Hotch had gone back to the hotel to call and check in on Jack. Rossi shook his head at the team watching Derek. He opened his book and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Suddenly everyone's attention was grabbed. Derek had pulled Sheldon closer to him and put his arms around him. Garcia smiled at the quick comfortable closeness, sitting on edge, wondering what would happen next. Sheldon leaned in and everyone at the table held their breath in the hopes of seeing a kiss.

"Damn it." Em said.

"Give 'em some time," Garcia encouraged. "I bet we'll see a kiss before long."

* * *

**Back in the park…**

Sheldon was still holding Derek's hands and gazing into his eyes.

"So tell me how this profiling thing really works. How do you figure out the person you're looking for?"

"Yea, I thought we weren't gonna talk about work tonight."

"Well, profile me. We talked during dinner. What can you tell me about me?" Derek smiled, swinging their hands.

"Profile you based on what I know. Let's see…highly intelligent, smart, athletic, caring. You have a great sense of vision, very open-minded. You like having a good time; you give the benefit of the doubt more often than most. You love family and you miss your sister. You like to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. God is very important to you. Uh, you greatly value the true friendships you've made. You rejoice when acquaintances make the move to friends. I think you like to dance, but you don't want anyone to know." They both chuckled.

"The man you want and need in your life is a man of importance. Not arrogant or anything, not a businessman but a man who knows what's important, you know? This man knows what his priorities are and he makes sure you're one of them. You secretly want him to spoil you, but you 'play complain' when he does. You need someone who loves you unconditionally; he handles your schedule well. He's a strong person in all aspects, physically, emotionally, spiritually. He's a great kisser, a hell of a lover and you make him wait, just to make sure he's worthy of you. Even in the relationship, sometimes you make him wait. You two end up craving each other- which is good for the both of you. The two of you making love is an act to be envied because of how much you love each other. " Sheldon smiled. "Well?"

"Pretty good. You can tell I like to be spoiled?"

"Yes," Derek said nodding.

"How?"

"Ha-ha. I think I'll keep that to myself for a while." Derek said, with an evil grin. "You try it. Let me see what you know."

"Well, I think you aren't happy unless you're protecting someone or everyone. You like to be the first one in, making sure everything is ok. You take a while to trust people and when you do, they are forever in your life. Unless they break that trust. There's no middle ground on that- either you trust them or you don't. You've stopped wearing your heart on your sleeve because you think it stops you from getting hurt. However, when you are hurt, you hide it and won't let anyone know. You tend to work out your frustrations physically," Sheldon, pointed to Derek's calluses.

"Ummm, you try your best to love hard; you want someone to love you unconditionally without complaining about the walls you've built. You like to control the relationship, be the dominant one, on top all the time. I think you need a man who is a real lover, one who is in tune to your needs, one who makes you melt at the thought of his touch. You want to fall hopelessly in love and not have to worry about anything." Sheldon stepped closer to Derek, placing his hands behind Derek's head. "You love to be kissed, licked, caressed and teased. Foreplay is a must for you. If done properly, sometimes it's all you need." Derek seemed to tense up but Sheldon wasn't sure why.

"You love to cuddle, but you don't want people to know that. You need to know, it doesn't make you weak, it makes you more lovable," Sheldon whispered it like someone else was in the park listening to their conversation. "Making love is important to you. You've got a lot of physical reasons for it- feels good to your body, relieves your stress, helps you sleep. It brings you closer to your lover. But you're still looking for that one awesome soul-rocking experience that just engulfs your heart and sets it completely on fire. You'll find him one day and he'll be everything you need and didn't know you needed."

_Maybe it's you,_ Derek thought, _I'd love_ _it if it was you_.

Derek was quiet, not sure if Sheldon realized how on point he was about so many things. He did want unconditional love without having to let go of the walls. The walls allowed him be who he was. Maybe he needed to change something about himself.

"Well?" asked Sheldon. He couldn't tell if Derek's silence was good or bad. "You're kind of quiet. I feel like I stepped on your toes or something."

"Please don't feel that way Sheldon. You've just pointed out some things I haven't wanted to deal with yet. But it's all good."

"You sure?"

"I'm positive. Nothing for you to worry about."

"So, you still think it's a good thing for us to get to know each other better?"

"Absolutely! I would love the chance to get to know you better."

"Could you see yourself dating me?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes. Could you see yourself dating _me, _knowing what you know so far?" Derek responded.

"Yeah, I can." Sheldon smiled. "I don't know how but I can see myself falling deeply in love with you, being the best I could be for you."

"And you're ok with the fact that we'd be long distance for a long time?"

"Yes. We could take the train overnight to visit. Leave when we get off work and be there by morning. I haven't ridden a train in a long time."

"Me either. Maybe we could even meet halfway. I don't even know what the halfway point is. Between New York and Quantico. I'm pretty sure Reid could tell me though." They laughed. Sheldon leaned closer to Derek standing between his legs and gazing into his eyes. "I want to kiss you. Can I?"

"Yes, I think I'm ready to kiss you now."Sheldon said closing his eyes and placing a kiss on Derek's lips. He pulled back and opened his eyes. Derek held Sheldon's face in his hands as he kissed him gently. His hands were warm against Sheldon's cheeks that had been chilled by the nighttime air. His lips felt so soft. There was natural sweetness about them and the kiss was so sensual. Derek felt his body temperature change as his bottom lip licked Sheldon's and his own at the same time. Sheldon opened his mouth to welcome Derek's tongue and each felt the electricity of the meeting. As he changed the angle of his head, Sheldon could feel Derek's hands leave his face, slide down his back to settle at his waist. They kissed until the need to breathe forced them apart. As their foreheads rested on the other, their lips were smiling and the two men were almost giggling.

"It feels like the first time I ever kissed a guy all over again." Derek whispered, butterflies kicking in.

"I know. I haven't felt this excited over kissing a man in a long time. I like kissing you." Sheldon said kissing Derek again, gently with a craving for the taste of his lips. Excitement floated from Sheldon's heart and presented itself as a soft, yearning moan. Derek tightened his hold at Sheldon's waist as Sheldon's arms moved from the back to rest on Derek's chest. Derek's lips regrettably left Sheldon's and travelled to his cheek, kissing their way down to his neck. Sheldon's breath hitched at the feeling of the warm lips and nose now nuzzling around his Adam's apple. Derek gently nipped Sheldon's neck with his teeth, tenderly sucking each place his teeth touched. He sadly groaned.

"Mmmm…I gotta stop kissing you…mmm… or else you'll have one hell of a love mark tomorrow. Right (kiss). Here (kiss)."

"It's ok…mmm… (sigh) I can wear a tie tomorrow." Sheldon insisted. Derek laughed and looked into the sexy brown eyes.

"Nah gorgeous, I wouldn't do that to you when we're both trying to be professional. Especially this being the first that you work with the FBI."

"Wearing a tie _is_ professional."Sheldon said, sporting a disappointed pout.

"Mmm, pouty lips…love the way that looks. Can't resist those." Derek said kissing him again.

* * *

Across the street at the diner, Garcia was still sitting at the table, waiting to see if her best friend had real chemistry with a certain sexy doctor. Rossi was still engrossed with his book. J.J., Em and Reid had already left for the hotel. He looked at his watch.

"You know they could be out there all night and never kiss. I think we should head back." She sighed.

"I know, but I was just hoping."

"I know. Come on, kiddo. I'll walk back with you." Just as they stepped outside, it happened. She saw Derek kiss Sheldon. She tried her best to hold in her squeal and happiness because they clearly would have heard her across the street. Rossi smiled at her as she finally saw what she needed to see, wanted to see. And he smiled knowing Derek was on his way to happiness and love. Garcia pulled out her phone and took a few snaps with her camera phone.

"Why are you taking pictures?"

"So it'll last longer?" Rossi shook his head and they walked back to the hotel.

Derek was now holding Sheldon in his arms, neither man wanting to let go. But it was time for them to get some rest to be able to finish working the case the next day. There was no telling what kind of leads would be generated from the overnight profiles and sketch. They hopefully would have some time to spend together the next day. They held hands as they walked back to the hotel. No one was in the lobby as they walked in so they saw no reason to stop. They held hands on the elevator and Derek walked Sheldon to his room.

Sheldon unlocked it and Derek leaned in for one last kiss good night. Each whispered "good night" and Derek walked to his room, entering carefully in case Reid was already asleep, which he was. Derek slipped into the bathroom and changed his clothes, cherishing the tingling memory of Sheldon's lips on his. Sheldon was a giddy mess who couldn't stop smiling. He had to jump up and down a few times to try and get out the nervous energy he still felt. At one point he felt like screaming into the pillow. As he put on his pajamas, he too was reliving and taking in the memory of the evening, especially the kiss and Derek holding him in his arms. He was setting the alarm on his phone when he received a text from Garcia. He noticed that Derek's number was on the sent list as well. He clicked on the message to find out it was picture mail. He soon found out that it was a picture of him and Derek kissing in the park that she had taken as she was leaving the diner. The caption underneath said:

"I'm so glad I was right. I'm so happy to see that the two of you decided to take a chance on each other. You guys make me smile. ;) Yay for LOVE!!! From Pen"

Derek couldn't help but laugh. _That Garcia_, he thought. Sheldon thought it was cute and maybe she was right. Maybe he and Derek were perfect for each other. Yay for love.


	10. A Day at the Zoo

**Warning: This is a slash romance between the two men. Although this story as a whole is rated M, this is a family chapter. A glimpse of the future for Sheldon and Derek. **

**Disclaimer: **See First chapter

Chapter 9: A Day at the Zoo

FBI SSA Agent Derek J. Morgan always loved going to the zoo as a child. The city of Chicago had one of the most famous zoos in the country and the world. His parents took him as a child and now he was returning the favor. A cute little four-year-old girl dressed in purple tugged his right hand.

"Daddy, do we _have_ to go in the reptile house?" Another equally cute little girl dressed in yellow tugged his left hand.

"Yeah, daddy do we _have_ to?" Bianca and Fiona MarKes, the daughters of Sheldon and Derek, asked these questions.

"No, princesses we don't have to. We can go and look at something else."

"Oh you're just being a fraidy cat!" Mocked the little boy walking behind them, holding Sheldon's left hand.

"Am not!" Bianca yelled back.

"Are too." Said the little boy holding Sheldon's right hand.

"We're not fraidy cats." Fiona spat back, showing angry eyes.

"Hey, hey. Stop that right now." Derek stopped walking and turned to his and Sheldon's sons. "You know we don't tease each other. It's not fair for you to make fun of your sisters because they don't want to go in the reptile house." He looked sternly at Benjamin and Douglas. "They didn't tease you when you didn't want to go in and see the birds, did they?"

"No sir." They replied.

"Ok, what do we say?" They apologized to their sisters. "Now if you want to, you can go in with Papa, and we'll wait out here for you to come out."

"Can we go Papa?" Ben asked.

"I don't know. _Can _you?" Sheldon asked. They thought for a second about their question.

"Oh, may we go Papa?" He nodded that Doug had corrected his phrase.

"Yes, you may. Let's go and get out. I'm not that fond of snakes either." They turned and walked into the reptile house.

"Well, ladies it's just us." Derek was looking for a bench or table for them to sit and wait.

"Daddy, I have to use it." Fiona said.

"Me too." Derek looked around for the restrooms sign.

"Over here." He directed them over to his right. "Excuse me; are any of these restrooms Family Restrooms?" He asked a zoo employee.

"Yes sir, the one with Koala on the door."

"Thanks." He started to walk over with them.

"Uh, sir I'm not sure if you can go in with them." The employee sounded unsure, thinking that maybe Derek was a pedophile. Derek thought he would have gotten used to those looks and those questions by now. Today wasn't one of those days. It was times like these that him feel like Gay Couples and their families hadn't made much progress in the world of straight and normal.

"It's a family restroom. I want to make sure my daughters are safe so I'm going in."

"It's ok Daddy, we're big girls. We can go by ourselves." Bianca stated.

"Yes, at home with us, at school and with Mommy and your grandmothers. But this is a public place and I know not so nice people hang out here."

"Like the bad guys you catch?"

"Yeah, baby like those bad guys."

"We can try this one time right?" Fiona asked. His daughters had him wrapped around their fingers from the minute they arrived. He seriously thought about it. He couldn't keep them at age four forever. He sighed.

"Ok, we'll try this one time. Only in the family restroom. You remember our code word?"

"Yes sir." He nodded and let them go into the restroom. He kind of glared at the employee as he waited for his little princesses. _Maybe she doesn't know the reason behind the family restroom. It's for more than just women with babies_, he thought_._ He made a mental note of her name and decided to e-mail a concern/complaint to the zoo management when he got back to his mom's house. Derek listened intently for the word "dictionary". That was the girls' code word if they felt uncomfortable in a situation. They had only used it once and it was rightly used.

They were on a church outing. The Youth Department had gone to the Children's Museum of Memphis and they were having a picnic lunch outside. They had seen a strange woman hanging around them at the park. The weather was very spring like and she was dressed in a full-length fur coat and fur-lined boots as if it were a snowy January day in Chicago. She had a basket full of stuffed animals and toy cars. She was approaching the swings, trying to give away the toys in exchange for a child to help her cheer up a friend who was supposed to be sick and not able to walk. She pointed to a van parked at the side of the park. Someone in the front sat waved anytime a child looked in that direction. Bianca felt scared and yelled "dictionary" as loud as she could. Derek and Sheldon both heard it and looked in the direction of the swings.

The adults hearing the commotion only looked at the woman in the fur coat. Their untrained eyes couldn't see the two male abductors, closely walking in the area behind the swings that they saw. Deacon Daye, a Memphis Police Officer and Deacon Sharp, the church's security director saw them too. Daye was already at the van calling for back up. Each of the officers yelled their credentials and pulled their guns on the perps. The youth directors moved the children away from the swings and soon sirens from the police cars were heard and approaching the park.

As men of the law, Derek and Sheldon never went anywhere without their credentials and guns. They were licensed to carry; they had their cards saying so and their FBI Badges. Even if they were just going to church or the grocery store. Deacons Daye and Sharp were the same way. When church members saw that one or more of these men were chaperoning a youth trip, or any trip for that matter, they felt safer.

Just before Bianca and Fiona came out of the restroom, Sheldon and the boys found them.

"Out so soon?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, our boys are not as brave as they thought they were. Hey, where are the girls?" Sheldon asked.

"In the restroom." Derek said, trying not to take his attention from the door.

"Then why are you out here? It's a Family Restroom right?"

"Yes, but the employee said I couldn't go in." Sheldon had a confused look on his face. "I know, I know. The girls should be out any minute." Sheldon shook his head.

"Do either of you need to go while we're here?" He asked Ben and Doug.

"I do Papa."Ben said.

"Do we have to go in there?" Doug asked.

"No, we only have to use Family Restrooms when Daddy or I are out with your sisters. They can't go in the men's room and we can't go in the ladies room, ok?" The boys nodded and Sheldon moved them towards the men's room. "Back in a minute." Bianca and Fiona came out of the restrooms with their shirts a little wet.

"What happened Fi?"

"We couldn't quite reach the sink Daddy." She replied.

"That's ok baby. It'll dry. Let's wait over here for them out of the way so other people can get to the restrooms, ok?" They moved to wait for the rest of their family. While waiting Derek's stepfather Maxwell and his mom came over to them.

"There you are. We got lost. Where are Sheldon and the boys?" She asked.

"In the restroom."

"Grandma did you know that Daddy couldn't go in the Family Restroom with us? He goes with us all the time at home."

"No, I didn't sweetie. Why not?"

"The lady said he couldn't." Max looked around to find an employee.

"Which employee Derek?" He pointed her out.

Max walked up to her and asked if she could use the radio to ask the closest manager on duty to meet him near the reptile house. She did so and when the manager arrived, he looked pleasantly surprised and excitedly shook Max's hand. What the employee didn't know was that Max was Chicago's Parks and Recreation Director. He asked the manager about the signage for the Family Restroom, if the employees knew the proper procedures and whom the restrooms were actually for. Max noticed the sign that said "Same Sex Couples with Children Welcome" was missing. The manager got on the radio, called someone in the office, and confirmed they had the signs. Max told him to get the signs up as quickly as possible. He left to get the job done.

Sheldon and the boys came out and by that time Sarah, her husband and children had caught up with them. Now that everyone had seen the entire zoo, they set off to find place to picnic. The kids just really wanted to play. Soon everyone was full and the kids were getting tired. As they were leaving the zoo, Max checked Family Restrooms along the way to make sure the proper signs had been posted and most were. He would send an e-mail for someone to come out and inspect the zoo the upcoming week to make sure the zoo was in full compliance.

Sarah and her family left and Derek and Sheldon drove back to his mother's house. He sold a couple of his properties in Quantico before he moved to New York with Sheldon for six months. Luckily, he was ale to strike a deal with the people who were already renting the houses. And when they moved back to Quantico, he had a year to sell the rest before they moved to Memphis. With the extra money he had, he helped his mother and stepfather buy a bigger house. He knew that since he and Sheldon were going to get married, they definitely wanted a family- as many kids as they could handle. They didn't know it was going to be four at the same time. A big family would definitely need a big place to stay when they came to visit.

His mother had never thought about owning an eight bedroom house before, never thought it was possible. But Derek knew the sacrifices his mom made for him and his sisters after their dad died. And if Max could provide her with the day-to-day things and love, he was more than happy to buy a house for her and him. He accepted him, Desi, Sarah and Sheldon as if they were his own children and he made their mother happy.

Derek and Sheldon put the children down for nap in the playroom they made up. When she married Max, the number of grandchildren went from Sarah's two to 12. Derek and Sheldon had four, Max's daughters Jess and Kelly had two each and his sons Paul and Allen one each. Everyone seemed in need of a nap.

Derek had a greater appreciation for his husband. On the days that his BAU team was out in the field, Sheldon often had all four kids to deal with, especially if it was Pen's turn to travel with the team. Bathing them, making lunches, doing laundry, getting them ready for school, shopping, keeping order. Sheldon would work half days on those days. He was in charge of the new FBI Lab in Memphis, he could do that. Derek was so tired after just dealing with the two girls. He made a mental note to talk with Sheldon and Pen about a part-time babysitter for those rare occasions.

The pitter-patter, no more like running of little feet woke Derek up from his nap, but he didn't get up until bodies starting attacking them in the bed.

"Daddy, Papa, wake up! Dinner time!" Was all he what he heard in various pitches. "Come on Daddy." Ben was trying to get him to sit up by pulling his arm.

"Ok, Ben, I'm up, I'm up."

"Come on Papa it's spastetti and meatballs!" Fiona exclaimed, with her speech impediment. Sheldon rubbed his eyes and leaned on his shoulder.

"Ok, you guys wash up and we'll be down in a minute."Sheldon said and the little feet bounded down the stairs. Derek looked at his husband and kissed him.

"We did decide four was good right?"

"Yes."

"Ok, just checking."

Derek liked hearing the name Daddy. He never thought he would hear it, never thought wanted to hear it until Micah and Sheldon. Micah made him want to be a dad and a good one. A dad who wanted to protect someone, wanted to help someone grow and learn. Sheldon saw the potential for him to be a great parent. And between the two of them, they were.

Derek woke up as if someone had jumped on his bed and pulled his arm. He sat straight up only to find Reid sitting at the table of the hotel room, reading. He rubbed his eyes, not believing the dream he just had.

"Morning." Reid said.

"Morning." He blinked his eyes. "Let me ask you something. You ever had a dream about Lilli or Daniel before you guys even thought about kids?"

"Not really. I dreamed that we would have them, because we wanted them. Why?"

"I just had a dream that Sheldon and I were married. We were visiting my mom and my stepfather, but she's not dating anyone at the moment. And we were taking our **four **kids to the zoo. I could clearly see how they looked and headr them speak. I even know their names. We each had a backpack with changes of clothes, medicine and snacks. Is that wishful thinking or a premonition?"

"You got me there. You know their names?"

"Yea, Benjamin, Douglas, Bianca and Fiona. Weird, huh?"

"Most certainly. Wonder if Sheldon had a similar dream? Garcia or Rossi might be a better person to ask about dream interpretation, being of gypsy spirits and so forth."

"Yeah, I just might have to do that."


	11. Leads

**Warning: This story is a slash romance between two men. However, this is chapter 10 and if you've read this far, then you know it. 8) **

**Disclaimer: **See First chapter

Chapter 10: Leads

The next morning found Sheldon waking up with a huge smile on his face. He kissed Derek Morgan the night before and it left him over the moon. He closed his eyes relishing the memories of the kiss and the conversation. _Derek needs to work on his pickup lines. But if he and I are really feeling the chemistry that we think we feel, maybe he won't need the lines anymore; he'll have me._ That thought made Sheldon smile even more as he got up to steal bathroom time before the ladies were awake.

Derek was in disbelief at the fact that Sheldon let him kiss him. He didn't seem the type to kiss on a first date, at least not like that. _I loved kissing his neck. Must be a hot spot for him._ The chemistry he was feeling had him thinking that perusing a relationship with Sheldon would be a good idea for him. He had already profiled him, even though their BAU rules say not to. The fact that Sheldon was just as interested in a relationship as Derek was, made the ultimate icing on the cake.

The station was abuzz when the team arrived. Derek and Sheldon managed to share a secret kiss with their eyes from across the room. Today was going to be a busy day. Leads had started pouring in but many were useless. That was until Lydia Offen entered the station.

"Is Chief Grant available? I think I have some information on the person in the sketch." The desk officer called Grant's office and he and Hotch came to meet the woman.

"I hear you may have some information for us?"Grant asked.

"Yes, my name is Lydia Offen and I've seen the young man in the sketch. His name is Miles." They led her to the conference room and introduced her to Reid, Garcia, Derek and Sheldon.

"Could you please tell us where you saw him?" Hotch asked.

"He and his father came into my shop to have something made."

"And what to do you make?"

"My cousins and I own it together. We make tarps." Sheldon and the agents collectively sighed at their first real lead, but were waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Most of our orders come from out of state. We're rare because we can make them in all shapes and sizes and ship anywhere."

"So Miles and his father came in recently to order a tarp?"

"Not recently, no. It's been a year and a half."And there was the other shoe. "I brought the invoice so you could see the order, in case you needed it." She was handing it to Hotch when he pointed to Sheldon and he took it as he was wearing gloves to protect any evidence. He immediately scanned it for fingerprints as she talked to Hotch and the police Chief.

"A year and a half?"

"Yes. We get a lot of odd shaped tarps but this had to be the oddest yet. It was square, 20 ft. long and 20 ft. wide with a 15 ft. circle in the middle. He wanted the most durable material we had."

"Did he say what he was going to use it for?"

"He said he and his wife were expecting to be taking care of a lot of children and they were making their basement into a large playroom. I think he said he was having a round toy box made." As the fingerprint scanner was searching, Garcia was searching through the info on the invoice.

"Did you ever see his wife?"

"No every time he came to the shop the boy was always with them. Has either of them done something wrong? He is just the nicest man. He even threw some business our way."

"How so?" Reid asked.

"Well, he recommended us to several painting companies in the Seattle area and some carnivals that needed some tents made."

"Miles Wheatly's name came up in the process of our investigation and we would just like to ask him a few questions."

"I don't know how current the address info is now."

"It's ok. This is the best lead we've had." Grant said. "Ma'am, do you think you would be able to work with a sketch artist to describe Michael Wheatly? He may be able to help us find his son."

"Sure." He led her out of the conference room to where their resident sketch was.

"This has got to be the best lead." Sheldon said.

"Anything on the scanner yet?"

"Not yet."

"Garcia?"Hotch asked.

"Hope everybody had a good breakfast this morning. We got a lot to check out. Printing out last known address. And it's not the one on the invoice. Current house is in his name only. No wife mentioned anywhere. This house was purchased five months ago. Printing realtor's name. Bank records are showing checking, saving and mortgage account at the local bank."

"That's odd." Reid said, looking over her shoulder at the screen.

"Other than what we already know?" Sheldon asked.

"There's no employer listed for him. He has a line of credit at the bank, with current payments, but no job listed." Sheldon was in thought he looked through the latest stack of leads one of the officers had just laid on the table. Garcia was continuing to print out everything she could think of.

"Hey guys, I was just thinking about our victims. We still don't have any hits in missing persons. I kept thinking yesterday that either they aren't from this area or no one was looking for them. Suppose these kids weren't _just_ missing?"

"You mean missing months before the murders?" Reid asked.

"Yes. Lydia Offen said that the tarp was made over a year ago in anticipation of a large number of children staying in a house. What if these kids were kidnapped over a year ago and just now murdered?" He sat at his computer. "Let me see what we get if we change the time missing for all of the victims."

"It makes sense why there would be no hits in missing persons. If they were missing for months the families probably had memorial services months ago for closure because the bodies have never been found." Within seconds of him changing the missing dates, the pictures and names of their victims began popping up on the screen.

"Whoa." He said. Hotch came and stood behind him. "There's the basketball player, the college girl with the heart tattoo, the geeky kid, the two black girls…oh my God Hotch, there are faces we don't have… haven't seen in the morgue yet."

"Reid, gather the team and Chiefs Grant and Glass." Reid immediately ran out of the room. He and Sheldon stared at the screen in shock as the names and faces of all 11 found victims and 10 others made themselves available.

"Sir, if we think that the 11 were kidnapped, kept and killed, where are these other 10? Are they still alive or are we looking for their bodies?" Garcia asked, with fear in her voice.

"I pray to God they are still alive and we can find them. But they've all been missing the same about of time. If they are alive, it may be a matter of days, hours even until he decides what to do with them." Hotch sighed as the team and the Chiefs entered the room. He briefed them on the new information and passed out the assignments. Everyone was told under the strictest terms to not release any information to the public, no matter how important the lead might be.

Garcia and Reid were diving into the lives of the victims, to find commonalities between them, besides being missing for over a year. J.J. and Rossi headed to the reality office, Morgan and Prentiss the address on the invoice. Chief Grant and Hotch took the last known address and Chief Glass and one other officer headed to the bank. Sheldon stopped over at the lab to let the CSIs know the updates and to begin to officially match the evidence they had to bodies before going to the morgue to update Dr. Ivy.

* * *

2344 Miles Drive 8:39 a.m.

Derek and Emily drove up to the house that was owned by Michael Wheatly until five months ago. Getting out they checked the neighborhood. The houses were cookie cutter; not expected in a rural looking area like this. Neither had ever seen a "neighborhood" with the houses so far apart. Derek estimated the house were at least 25 to 30 ft. apart. They almost looked like cabins in the woods. The yard and porch looked neat and clean. It was quiet. Any children were probably in school. Em walked up the stairs and rang the bell. A few moments later, a skinny gentleman opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Good morning sir. I'm SSA Emily Prentiss and this is SSA Derek Morgan, we're with the FBI." They showed their credentials.

"I'm Philip Todd and this is my wife Allison and our daughter Denise."

"Good morning." Allison replied. She was holding a baby girl appearing to be about three months old.

"Morning Ma'am." Derek answered. "Mr. and Mrs. Todd would you mind if we asked a few questions about the previous owners of this house?"

"Sure come in." He said stepping aside, showing them the couch. "Can I get you anything Agents?"

"No thank you. We're fine." Em replied as they all sat down.

"Mr. Todd, do you know the previous owners of the house?"

"Yes, Michael Wheatley. We lived in a very tiny one-bedroom apartment and wanted to find a house to live in before our daughter was born. The house was listed with Heart and Homes Realty."

"So you've been here five months?"  
"Yes, we were still getting situated when I went into labor."

"When you came to view the house, did you meet anyone else besides him? A wife, children maybe?" Derek inquired.

"No sir. Always just him. Although he mentioned his family and his wife. He said they had moved to a bigger house because they were going to be taking care of a lot of children unexpectedly."

"Unexpectedly?"

"Yes, something about some family members were in a bad accident and they children didn't have a place to stay." Allison nodded.

"He said there would be about 12 of them. I just assumed they were cousins or nieces and nephews." She said.

"Did he mention what kind of accident?"

"No. I'm not even sure if they all lived in Washington."

"Did he tell you anything specific or special about the house?"

"Well, there's a shed out back. It's kind if old and worn out. He warned us to be careful going in there because it might fall. I just haven't had the time to do it. It's going to be my summer project. I think I want to tear it down and clear it for a sitting area." Philip said.

"Could you describe Mr. Wheatly, physically and behaviorally?" Derek asked.

"I guess he's about 6 ft. Brown hair and eyes. He always looked like he had been doing dirty work, you know mechanic, lumberjack, something with dirt or grease. Although the clothes always looked clean. I guess there are some stains that don't wash out well." Allison said.

"When you say behaviorally you mean how he seemed?" Derek answered yes. "He was calm mostly. Sometimes he would look a little scared when we would go to certain rooms and definitely when he mentioned that shed out back." Philip said.

"Would you mind showing us those rooms and the shed? We'd like to take a look at them." Em said.

"Sure." He replied. They followed him down a hallway. "Here's the dining room. His eyes looked particular nervous when we looked in here." The agents looked around for signs that people had been kidnapped. "He had just painted when we toured the first time."

"Derek." Em pointed to small dents in the doorframe about the size of an average man's knuckles. Derek nodded that he saw them. Any blood spatter would have been covered up by the paint. "The other rooms?"

"He said this was his study." He said showing them the second room. Derek felt a shiver go down his spine. He had a bad feeling about this room. "It was empty when he showed it to us though. We decided to keep as a storage room until we get our new shed built." Nothing looked out of place, but he had the feeling there was. The last room they saw was a guest bedroom. Emily noticed scratches on the side of the door facing the room and inside the closet, as if someone had tried to get out.

Philip then took them outside to the shed. Allison stayed in the kitchen and looked out the back door, not wanting the baby to catch a cold in the damp weather. Now here is where the ill feelings really started. The shed seemed more like a small barn. There were two windows, high up toward the eaves. There were workbenches, old wooden planks, and various rusted items. Both agents felt the same thing they felt when they entered the club where the murders happened. Not a good thing.

Derek walked to one wall and looked closely at the dark spots on the wood. It looked like it could have been motor oil, weird paint splatter from a wood working project. But Derek's first thought was blood. Someone had been tortured in this space. Em could see scratches made from something metal hitting wood. Like someone swung at something or someone and missed. She also saw teeth mark on wood.

"Derek…" She whispered, trailing off.

"Yeah, I know. I felt the same way at the club." She raised her eyebrows in question at the blood spots on the wall. "Any DNA might be too degraded by the elements to match the victims." He whispered back, turning to look at the opposite wall. "Mr. Todd you said you've never been in here right?"

"No sir I haven't. This is the first time." That meant his fingerprints wouldn't be anywhere in there.

"Em…" he said, eyes pointing to a couple of axes on the wall.

"If they're on that wall they're not the murder weapon but the blood on then might be the same type as some of the victims. DNA might be degraded on there too."

"But Dr. Ivy and Sheldon might be able to match slice and hash marks." He pulled out his phone to call Hotch and tell him their discovery. After hanging up with him he talked to Mr. Todd. "Mr. Todd, I can't comment on the case we're working on but the axes and tools on the wall might be clues into what we're looking for. Do we have your permission to take them?"

"Sure. I don't mind. I have my own. Besides they're too rusty for me."

"We might have some CSIs come and take a look around for evidence, would that be ok with you as well?" Em asked.

"I guess. What would they be looking for?"

"Possible signs that people were abused and tortured here." They watched as horror fell upon his face.

"Tortured? Here?" She nodded. "Well, I know this thing is coming down then. I don't even want to think about anything bad happening here." He paused. "Would this have anything to do with those kids murdered in that club?"

"It's possible. We're still making connections."

"Take what ever you need from this building. Allison and I will even move stuff around in the other rooms I showed you if they need to look for something to catch this bastard." Derek nodded and called the Stacy the Lab Director and asked if she could send a CSI or two out to collect evidence form the shed. Hotch called him as soon as he got off the phone with her to let Derek know that a warrant was accompanying them. "Wait, do you think Mr. Wheatly had something to so with the murders?"

"We're not sure. We are still collecting evidence."

"I'd hate to think he was mixed up in something like this, but if he did, he needs to pay. I can't imagine my little Denise ending up like those poor kids."

* * *

Heart and Homes Realty 8:30 a.m.

J.J. and Rossi entered the realtor's office and were surprised to see quite a few people already sitting in the waiting room. A redheaded middle-aged woman came up to them and greeted them.

"Welcome to Heart and Homes Realty. I'm Kathy Collier. May I help you?"

"I'm SSA Rossi and this is SSA Jareau, we're with the FBI." He said, showing their credentials. "Do you have a few minutes; we'd like to ask you some questions about some houses your realty sold."

"FBI, sure. Please come into my office."

"There sure are a lot of people here this morning." J.J. said as they followed her down the hall.

"Today is signing day for a lot of people. We sell houses here in the area and quite a few houses in Seattle." She offered them two chairs as they entered her office. "What can I help you with agents?"

"Have you sold to or listed any houses for a Michael Wheatly?" Rossi asked.

"Oh yes. Six to be exact." She turned to her computer and typed in his name. "The fist time we sold a house to him and his wife. That address is on Carter Lane. About three years after moving in, his mother died and he listed her house with us and we sold it for him. After his wife died, he felt the house was too big for him and his son so he listed and sold it. It sold fast too." She scrolled down the page of his file. "We were doing apartment searches back then and it looks like we found them a small apartment. After a while he met someone and the bought the house on Miles Lane which he sold five months ago and bought the current house on Washington Avenue."

"Could we get a print out of these transactions?"

"Absolutely."

"You mentioned Mr. Wheatly's wife dying. When was this?"

"Oh, Katrina died in 1997. Miles was just eight years old. Poor little guy. He and Michael were so lost without her."

"Do you remember how she died?"

"Sadly I do; it was so tragic. She was pregnant with twins and was leaving the doctor's office when a drunk driver hit her. Michael was at work and little Miles at school. She and those babies never had a chance. One twin died in the womb and they were able to get the second baby out. But she was too small to survive. And Katrina died on the table. She was so young, not even thirty."She sighed. "Agents, we're such a small community and a lot of stuff people see in the bigger cities just doesn't happen here."

"Did they ever catch the driver?" J.J. asked.

"Yes they did, Richard Memoir. But he walked because of a mix up in the chain of evidence."

"Richard Memoir? _The_ Richard Memoir?" Rossi asked.

"Yep it was him."

"I'm not familiar with the name." J.J. said.

"Richard Memoir and his family own Memoir Cameras. They used to make personal cameras like Polaroid and Kodak and were fierce competition for them. Now they make cameras for photography places, medical cameras, traffic cameras and sell over seas. They also make those small digital cameras where you can add music and edit without the aid of a computer." He explained.

"It was only fair that he paid them. Michael sued him and won 2 million in the civil suit. And Memoir set up a college fund for Miles."

"Seems fair." J.J. said.

"Let me go and get the print outs for you." And she left the office.

"Well, this explains why there wasn't an employer. Two million would take care of anybody if you managed the money properly." Rossi said.

"Not to mention the selling of the houses that added to the bank accounts. We should call Sheldon. He and Dr. Ivy should look up the death certificates."She stepped out to place the call. When Kathy returned, Rossi asked her about the second woman in Wheatly's life.

"Her name is Rhonda. I have met her a few times. She seems nice."

"Do you remember anything about her? Last name, children, occupation, and physical description?"

"I think her last name is Shaw. She's about 5'6, slim, brunette. I saw her in scrubs once; I thought she might have been a nurse. I don't know if she had any children. Although, the reason he bought this new house is because they were expecting to take care of some children. I think something may have happened to their family." Rossi nodded as he put the notes in his pad.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Collier. You've been very helpful."

"You're welcome Agent Rossi. I didn't even ask what this was all about. Are they in some kind of trouble?"

"We're not sure at the moment. Their names have come up in our investigation and we just need to talk with them."

"Well, if I can be of any more help, please let me know." He stood; thanking her again, shook her hand, and met J.J. in the hall.

* * *

8: 45 Medical Examiner's Office/Morgue

Sheldon was showing Dr. Ivy the new information they discovered. They were able to completely identify all eleven victims in the morgue. The DNA machine finally spit out the profile panels and they were able to match DNA to the other missing victims from previous information, on paper anyway. Sheldon closely went over everything he could to try to find where the missing young people could be. He was coming up empty. He hated cases like these. At least there was evidence. Hotch had called to say the he needed Sheldon and the other CSIs to head over to the property on Miles and collect evidence on the shed. A warrant was going to accompany them even though they had the homeowner's consent.

As they arrived, he could see that Derek and Em were still there waiting for them. Sheldon let the young CSIs start collecting so he could talk with Derek for a few minutes.

"Hey." Sheldon said.

"Hey yourself." Derek replied, leaning forward to gently kiss Sheldon's lips. He pulled back from it with a huge smile. "Busy day huh?"

"Yeah and getting busier by the minute. Anything in particular we're looking for?"

"Not sure. Mainly trying to see if there is any blood evidence, maybe something to tell us where he has taken those kids."

"I'll see what I can find." As he turned, Derek patted him on the behind. He smiled. "What's that for?"

Derek shrugged. "Don't know. Just felt like it." He smiled and walked back to where Emily was standing.

"You two are too cute, you know that?"

"So I gathered. I'm really looking forward to getting to know him."

"You sure you want a relationship now?"

"No time like the present. He's smart, intelligent, kind, caring. Sexy. And I'm lonely."

"So I gathered." she said laughing.

About an hour and half later the CSIs retreated from the barn with long faces. The elements had indeed degraded the majority of anything they found. They could confirm the presence of blood and semen but would not be able to match it to the victims or the Wheatlys. The axes on the wall would be useful in matching the type of wound. There were discarded handles from old shovels, brooms or mops that were covered in duct tape to add to the bluntness. They were obviously used to beat the victims. Sheldon thought he might be able to get a fingerprint from underneath the tape, on the handle itself. That was there biggest hope.

They all left the barn and thanked the Todds for letting them search the property. The CSIs had already loaded what they could use in the van and had driven off. Sheldon was going o ride back with Em and Derek. As they rounded the cove to head back to the main street, they saw a figure trying to flag them down. It was a limping teenage girl, about 16 years of age. Her hair was matted and dirty. She was covered in bruises and cuts. Her clothes, what little she had on, were torn and dirty. She was barefoot and freezing. It could be easily seen that she was malnourished; her skin was pale and sunken it at her cheeks. She looked like a skeleton.

Em stopped the car and Sheldon immediately jumped out to help her.

"I'm Dr. Hawkes."He said trying to get her attention. She was looking around, paranoid that someone was after her. "Do you know where you are?"

"Ppp...please don't let t-t-tthem get me." Em brought a blanket from the safety kit in the car to wrap around her. "H-h-help me save them."

"Help you save who?' Derek asked.

"The others. T-t-they're s-s-till at t-t-he h-house." Derek and Em immediately started looking about.

"Do you remember which way she came?" He asked.

Em responded, "Over here I think. Which way did you come from?" She asked the girl. She weakly pointed to her right.

"P-past the t-t-trees." Her teeth were chattering so that she could barely talk.

"What's your name? Can you tell me your name?" Sheldon asked. He was trying to check her pulse.

"M-m-ma-r-ta"

"Marta. Marta." He was going over the names in his head of the still missing kids. "Marta Prince?" She nodded in surprise that he knew her name. "It's ok; we've been looking for you and the others."

"Can you tell us exactly where the house is?" Em asked. "Do you know the street name?" She shook her head no.

"I just woke up there."

"How long ago?"

"They took me last spring."

"Over a year ago. When you say 'they' do you mean Michael and Miles Wheatly?" Derek asked. She nodded with fear. "It's ok. You're safe now. We're going to get you to a hospital and rescue everyone else with you." She nodded again. Derek immediately called Hotch.

"Hotch; Em, Sheldon and I are near the Todds. We've got a survivor."

"Survivor? Are you sure?"

"Yes we were leaving and she flagged us down. She said she came from an area with a bunch of trees. She's giving us a positive I.D. on the names. We know the general direction that she came from but not the street."

"Call Garcia and see if she can find the street and house name. We're on the way."

* * *

"Hotch did I just hear you say there is a survivor?"

"Yes a teenage girl flagged them down near the Todd residence. Do you know the name of the street behind it? Morgan said she pointed to some trees where she came from."

"Apple Way. Miles Dr. should actually be named cove because it's a huge circle. We're not far; we can access the situation and get some more officers there." They got in the car and Hotch called Rossi. J.J. called Reid and asked him to come with Assistant Chief Glass.

"Dave we've got a survivor. Grant and I are en route to Apple Way where the house is. Let's use the silent approach; we don't know what we're going to find."

"On the way." Rossi filled in J.J. as he punched the street name in the GPS.

Sheldon continued to care for the girl. He gave her the water and graham cracker snacks he had packed in his bag for later. He was checking her wounds. Some looked as fresh as the day before, others months old.

"How is she Sheldon?"Derek asked.

"She's badly bruised. I think she may have a few broken ribs and a bad sprain. She is definitely dehydrated and she hasn't had much to eat. We need to get her to a hospital."

"Everyone's on the way. Hotch probably ordered a silent approach so we probably won't hear the EMTs."

"Please m-m-ake sure they won't t-t-ouch them a-a-nymore."

"Make sure who doesn't touch who?" Em asked.

"Were you raped Marta?" Sheldon asked. She looked away and tears filled her eyes. "It's ok, you can tell me. I'm only here to help." She nodded. "It's ok. You're safe and we'll make sure the others are too. Do you know the names of the others?" Em started texting the names to Garcia as she spoke.

"Jason, Eric, Candace, Ariel, Sandy, Allen and Wesley."

"Uh oh, that's only eight. There are still two missing. Is there anyone else that was there in the past few days but aren't anymore?" Em asked.

"I haven't seen Carla and Ricky for a while. I don't know what happened to them."

"When you say while do you mean like a couple of weeks or a months?"

"Months." Em nodded as she sent the text. The ambulance came around the corner lights flashing but siren off.

"Here we go Marta. We're taking you to the hospital." The EMTS came to assist Sheldon and he gave them an update. "I'll ride with her." Sheldon told them that they should be expecting eight to ten more patients. Moreover, that all of them, male and female would need rape examinations done.

* * *

Hotch and the police chief had been surveying the street looking for any movement at any house for about five minutes. He called Morgan and let him know that they were in place, observing the street. A few minutes later, their SUV showed up. They walked up to the other SUV and got in.

"What's the update?"

"Marta Prince is our survivor. Sheldon went with her to the hospital." Em said.

"How did she seem?" The chief asked.

"Bruised and beaten. She looked like she hadn't eaten in a while. And molested or raped." The chief and Hotch both winced and shook their heads

"Yeah, she was very adamant about us making sure the others weren't touched," Derek said. "We're still missing two kids. She gave us seven names and with her, that makes eight. She said she hasn't seen the other two for at least a couple of months."

"Does Garcia have the names?" Hotch asked.

"I texted the names as Marta gave them to us. We're still looking for Carla and Ricky." Em said. "Do we know which house? This street wasn't on any of the info Garcia gave us."

"No, we're waiting on her to call back with the specifics." Just then, Hotch's phone rang.

"I'm sorry sir; there is nothing on this street under Wheatly or Shaw. I've even looked under the wife's maiden name. Nothing."

" Keep trying Garcia. We haven't seen any activity on the street yet. And when you get a chance check on Sheldon and Marta. She's our runaway survivor."

"Will do, sir."

Derek and Em got their FBI jackets and radio equipment on and went back to their SUV to drive around the neighborhood looking for anything suspicious. As they slowly drove, they saw two men leave a house just a few feet from where they were driving.

"Hotch, we have two men. One is a dead ringer for Miles." Em said.

"Follow them. Do not let them out of your sight. Follow them inside a building if you have to. Have Garcia trace your movements. As soon as the others arrive we will rescue those kids."

"Got it." She replied. Rossi and J.J. arrived just as the Assistant Chief and Reid did.

"Any other backups coming?" Grant asked.

"Rogers, Glenn and Brooks should be arriving any minute." Glass said.

"Good. Agents Morgan and Prentiss are following the Wheatlys. Radio Taylor to be patched into their whereabouts and provide backup for them." Everyone geared up and got to rescue those in the house.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to those if you are reading this story. I know it seems like a long time since I've updated this and it has been. The crime took a different turn than I wanted it to. One more chapter and this crime will be solved. I promise. And then we can see the relationship between Derek and Sheldon blossom. I wonder if that's the reason why this is my only fic with no reviews. None. And I know people are reading it; I have proof in numbers. I even thought about leaving a review for my own story just so all of my fics would have reviews. Oh well. As always, if you like, please review.


	12. The Rescue

**Warning: This story is a slash romance between two men. If you haven't figured it out after 11 chapters…**

**Disclaimer: **See First chapter. I don't own any name brand anything mentioned either.

**A/N**: I'm so thankful that this fic has finally had its first review! *happy dance* It's my story with the most chapters and the most words (I think) and it had no, absolutely no, reviews. I could see that people were reading it, but I was beginning to think that no one really liked it because no one reviewed it, not even to say if they liked/disliked the paring. Big shout out to **Tarja **(who _does_ like the paring) for the review. I was going to leave one for myself after I finished this crazy case I started. 8)

Chapter 11: The Rescue

The hospital…

When the EMTs arrived at the hospital, Sheldon prepared himself to step aside since he didn't have clearance to practice in the hospital. However, a scared 16-year-old Marta wouldn't go unless he went with her; she didn't have anyone else to trust. Sheldon told them who he was, showed his credentials and told them why he was in Washington. While updating them on the case, they researched his info. When it came back the truth, the hospital administrators and the lawyer came to see him in the ER. He had to convince Marta that he wasn't going far.

"Dr. Hawkes, I'm Dr. Pete. Thank you so much for coming with the FBI and helping with this case. It really shocked us when it happened. This is our attorney Lisa Scott." They all shook hands. "She has a temporary contract that you can sign giving you temporary privileges here so you can help us."

"It's just a precaution," the lawyer said, handing him the contract to look over and sign. "But this is a small town and if there are 8-10 more patients coming in need of emergency care, we are going to need your help. Plus you're a CSI; we don't do many rape kits here. You'd know exactly what we need."

"I understand. I don't mind helping. I just hope it doesn't get any worse." Sheldon looked it over and signed it. "There are some people I need to fax this to. Where can I do that?"

"Right in here." Dr. Pete replied and showed Sheldon an office he could use. He faxed it to Mac, Sid, his family lawyer and his rep at the NY State Medical License Board, along with an explanation of what he was doing.

* * *

The pursuit…

Derek and Em were carefully tailing the Wheatlys. It was difficult to do because as everyone kept telling them, this was a small town; people notice things. Funny how no one seemed to notice what was going on with the Wheatlys. Garcia called to let them know that Officer Taylor was their backup. They spotted the officer and he gave them a nod. Em pointed to the truck the men were driving so he knew what he was watching.

Derek pulled the SUV over for a few minutes to help keep their cover and then caught up with the Wheatlys. They were headed to the area's hardware store and probably the only Home Depot in the area. Even though this was a small area, the cities of Gray Harbor County weren't immune to big businesses coming to do business with them. The Home Depot was on the outskirts of Cosmopolis in what they called a "common area".

There were more cars than they expected to be there. Most were pickup trucks and vans with Seattle city tags. Maybe the county tax was cheaper. Em and Derek were prepared to follow them wherever they needed to. Officer House called to let them know that he was now joining the pursuit with them. Then an odd thing happened: Michael let Miles out of the truck. Miles walked into the store alone. The FBI agents gave each other concerned looks. Em motioned for Officer Taylor to follow her into the store. Derek and Officer House continued the tail on Michael.

As they entered, Em showed her credentials and asked for the manager. The employee pointed him out and they immediately informed him. The manager called back to the security team and told them what to keep an eye on. Taylor saw Miles first and let Em know where he was. Silently and carefully, they followed him around the store, watching his every move. The manager was close behind Em. The employees quietly and quickly helped move customers away from any possible events. The items that filled his basket? There were several axes, painting equipment, industrial strength cleaner, coveralls. All things that could be used to make a mess and clean up after.

Miles made his way to the large garbage can section and Em decided that this had to be their chance. She and Taylor held up badges to the surrounding customers and the employees cleared the area. Weapons, drawn they approached Miles.

"Miles Wheatly, I'm Emily Prentiss with the FBI. Put your hands above your head where we can see them. Place them on your head." He hesitated. "Now!" He jumped as she emphasized her command. He slowly raised his hands and put them on his head. "Slowly, turn around." He slowly turned and as soon as he did, Officer Taylor searched him and pushed him to the floor to cuff him. "Miles Wheatly you are wanted in questioning for the kidnapping and murders of so many people. Don't struggle just get in the car." She called Hotch to let him know Miles was in custody and Derek was in pursuit of Michael.

* * *

At the house…

Hotch and Chief Grant were the first ones inside the door. Reid, Rossi, Assistant Glass, Officers Brooks and Rogers quickly cleared each room of the house. J.J. stayed outside with Officers Glenn and Thorn just in case Michael came back or the news trucks rolled up. The EMTs were preparing themselves for whatever, calling for other available ambulances to head their way, with a lights out approach.

Once the rooms were cleared, all agents and officers headed for the kitchen and the entrance to the basement. The door was locked but there was a key handing on a peg right next to it. Reid unlocked it. As the door opened, they could hear the shock and fear of the young people below as they announced who they were. Carefully they walked down the stairs, guns drawn, not knowing what they might find.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs they found the kids huddled in several groups. Trust had to be earned quickly in order to help them.

"Don't be afraid. I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, this is SSA David Rossi and this is Dr. Spencer Reid. We're with the FBI and we're here to help you." They showed their credentials. "We know Michael Wheatly and his son Miles have been holding you hostage. Marta escaped and told us where you were."

"Wh...wh…where is she?" Sandy asked.

"She's at the hospital right now." Rossi said. "We are going to take all of you to the hospital."

"You can't!" Shouted Wesley, moving to protect the group he was with. "They'll know and we'll get in trouble." Rossi shook his head no.

"No, you won't. We'll be keeping you safe. They won't touch you ever again; I promise." The agents waited a few moments and the youths began to release the holds they had on each other.

"We know a lot has happened to all of you and we want to get you all to the hospital, but we only have two ambulances right now. Is there any one of you who is hurt more than the others are? Maybe we can get you to the ER first and bring everyone else in as soon as we can." Reid said. Chief Glass had brought in a few EMTs to look at them.

"He was beaten just this morning." Allen pointed to the boy they were protecting in the corner. His name was Jason. The EMTs went to him and radioed for a stretcher.

"She keeps throwing up."They pointed to someone else. Her name was Candace. Reid looked at the girl and could clearly see that she was pregnant. She was very slim and malnourished, but the baby bump was unmistakable. He held his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her up the stairs. For the sake of her and the baby, she needed to go on the first trip.

"Any one else badly hurt or bleeding?" Hotch asked. The EMTs were trying to help as many as possible. They tried to transport the most critical ones in the same bus so they could alternate. All of the officers and agents wanted to question them, wanted as many answers as they could get but right now these needed care. The questions would have to wait.

* * *

The pursuit continues…

Derek and Officer House continued on Michael Wheatley's trail. Derek knew in about another five or six miles, he would know someone was trailing him. He was leaving the Grey's Harbor area and that was not good. He had Garcia check on properties in the area connected to him so they might try to outsmart him by not having both cars trail him. Garcia told them there was heir property connected to the girlfriend's name. Since House knew the back ways, he left the pursuit and headed there. Derek had a feeling they would find the two missing kids there.

Officer House was already in hiding position when Michael Wheatly arrived. Derek saw him and nodded that he recognized where he was. Derek drove up in a driveway and pretended to be too preoccupied with a phone call to get out of the car. They saw that he wasn't going into the house but around it, into the backyard. Derek nodded to them to leave their cars and head for the yard. House made an indication that Wheatly went into the shed.

The closer they came to the building, the more they could hear voices, pleading for their lives. Derek made an "on three" motion and on three they entered and announced who they were.

"FBI FREEZE!" Wheatly stopped in mid swing. "Don't make one move or I will kill you." Derek stated. "Put the axe down, slowly and step away from those kids. You've tortured them enough for three lifetimes. Slowly, slowly…." Wheatly did as he was told. Officer House placed cuffs on him, as Derek made sure the two missing kids were ok.

"I'm SSA Derek Morgan with the FBI and this is Officer House with the Grey's County Sherriff's Department. We're here to help. We're gonna get you to a hospital, it may be in the SUV but we will get you there."

"No ambulance?" The teen asked. His name as Ricky.

"Right now they are transporting your friends to the hospital. Everyone is safe; you were the last two we were looking for." House said. Derek turned to Wheatly.

"Where's your girlfriend Rebecca Shaw? She's in this mess too."

"In her skin, where she's been. Jump out and right back in."He replied in a smart-aleck tone.

"You like being a smart-ass? Well smart-ass you need to tell me where she is so she can pay for her participation in this mess."

"I'm not telling you shit. You want her, you find her." Then he spat on Derek, kicked him in the leg, and tried to kick him in the groin. Before Wheatly could put his tongue back into his mouth and before Officer House could grab hold of him, Derek had grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up about five inches from the floor onto the wall.

"Did you just kick me _and_ spit on me? You do realize that you just assaulted an FBI agent right? Huh?" Derek's whisper was forceful and heavy. No one could hear what he was really saying. "I could kill you right now with my bare hands and make it look like self-defense. And since _**you **_are the piece of shit scum who decided it was a brilliant idea to kidnap, torture, and kill innocent teens and college kids, no one would punish me. Hell, I could get commendation after commendation for killing you. I have an idea of what you've done to these kids. There's a special section in Hell for you and I have no problems, **absolutely none**, sending your sick ass there myself." Wheatly stared at him with cold eyes and cold eyes stared right back. Morgan let him drop and handed House his cuffs. "Here, put these on his feet so he can be hog carried like the pig he is." Officer House obliged as Morgan call Hotch.

"Yeah Morgan?"

"We have Wheatly in custody and ready to transport. We also have the two missing teens; I'm headed to the hospital with them after we hit the station."

"Good, we have just a few left to get to the ER."

"I'm gonna call Garcia and have her locate the girlfriend and bring her in. She's in this pretty deep, Hotch. She inherited this property."

"Do what you need. See if you can get the CSI interns there and I'll see you at the hospital."Derek called Garcia to have her track down the girlfriend and to bring her in and to send the CSIs.

* * *

Dr. Sheldon Hawkes…

Victim after victim entered the ER. Each one was treated with extra care. Sheldon personally performed the rape kits on every single one of the youths. And it grieved him greatly to know that all of them, male and female had been raped by Michael or Miles Wheatly. What none of them knew was that the worse information was yet to come.

Each victim had finally been moved to a room or a shared room. None of their parents or relatives was contacted yet. These young people needed time to realize that for the first time in over a year, they were safe. Statements needed to be taken, but not at the expense of their first real opportunity to heal their bodies. The mental and emotional healing would take a while.

The Seattle media was trying to ease their way into the hospital. If they were able to get in then they could spread the news to the national news crews hanging around. People would find out that there were survivors; the parents of the missing kids would be calling with all kinds of questions no one was prepared to answer. All it would take was one person. If it leaked out that the hospital was full, people would ask even more questions. The agents, local forces and victims didn't need that. The media was quickly escorted from the property and given info to call J.J. at the station for updates. No updates were ready to be given, but at least there wouldn't be any cameras near the hospital.

Sheldon took a break after helping get everyone situated. He didn't take a long one; he wanted to get the rape kits started so the evidence would be ready to confront the Wheatlys. He ate and took a two-hour nap in the on call room. Derek met up with him on his way back to the lab. Derek gently pulled Sheldon into his arms, hugged him and kissed his lips.

"Mmm…" He said smiling. "What's this for? Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"You are amazing."

"Me?"

"Yes you. I saw the way you worked with all the victims. Your bedside manner is impeccable. It was amazing to see how they trusted you. After all they've been through, they were able to trust you. You've given them the biggest step towards recovery they could ever have- the knowledge that everything will be ok."

"I don't think that's anything special; it's just what I do. It's the job."

"Not everybody does that. You, gorgeous, are my hero."Derek kissed him again.

"Thanks for saying that. Now, I'm going to process these kits and get the best evidence we can get."

"I'll call you in a bit to give you a break, ok?" Sheldon nodded and went into the lab.

Graham had made it back to the lab after resting and collecting evidence literally all day. He was prepared to help Sheldon with whatever they needed. The two men started processing the kits and found something strange.

"Wasn't Jason the boy that was raped and beaten this morning?"

"Yeah."

"And you found out that Marta was recently raped as well right?"

"Yeah probably within the last 24-48 hours. Why?"

"I just confirmed Allen's DNA in both of their rape kits, along with Michael Wheatly's."

"What?"

"It looks like Allen raped Jason and Marta."

"That's impossible. Right? I mean these kids were tortured. I can't see them raping each other."

"Suppose he had to. Suppose the Wheatlys held a gun to his head and made him."

"Interesting theory Graham. Very interesting." Sheldon thought and paused. "And here's another. Suppose the DNA is secondary transfer, meaning that all three were raped by the same person; Marta first maybe, then Allen and Jason."

"No spermicide was detected so everything is unprotected. He could have gone from one to the other. That's super sick."

"I knew this case was horrible but I never thought about _this_. These kids are raped by their kidnappers and then raped by the others or forced to rape."

"They can't be charge for that, can they?"

"I hope not. They shouldn't be. They were under duress, probably doing it to save their lives."

"So what do we do now?"

"We have no choice but to list all the DNA discovered in each kit. Once statements are made, I'm sure the lawyers involved will only be charging the Wheatlys." They continued and the lab director joined them. She then discovered something else in her analysis.

"I've just found some fetal DNA. Were any of the girls pregnant?"

"There's one right about five months. I examined Candace and the baby myself. If she can gain some weight in the next two months, the baby might make it to term. Don't know how many health problems there will be." Sheldon picked up the notes he made. "I did find evidence of one, uh… here it is. Ariel I think it was, that showed evidence of a miscarriage."

"But none of them have had babies?"

"Not that they told us. But there are no statements yet. I'll make sure to let Hotch and the others know to ask them. If the girls had given birth the children could have been murdered or adopted."

"With them having to rape one another, we'd never be able to track those babies by DNA." Graham said.

"So true." Stacy replied. "On the other hand, that adopted baby may just have been given the best chance at a life not marred by this tragedy."

"So where does that leave Candace? I don't know if I could keep a child born out of rape." Graham said.

"I don't know if I could either." Stacy replied.

"Definitely a tough decision ahead." Sheldon said.

* * *

**A/N2:** I know I said I would have the case wrapped up in this chapter, but I'm kind of stuck on the interrogation. Besides, I think it needs its own chapter. So please enjoy, review and look forward to the Wheatlys going down.


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